Adsorption capability of activated carbon synthesized from coconut shell

Activated carbon was synthesized from coconut shells. The Brunauer, Emmett and Teller surface area of the synthesized activated carbon was found to be 1640 m²/g with a pore volume of 1.032 cm³/g. The average pore diameter of the activated carbon was found to be 2.52 nm. By applying the size-strain plot method to the X-ray diffraction data, the crystallite size and the crystal strain was determined to be 42.46 nm and 0.000489897, respectively, which indicate a perfect crystallite structure. The field emission scanning electron microscopy image showed the presence of well-developed pores on the surface of the activated carbon. The presence of important functional groups was shown by the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectrum. The adsorption of methyl orange onto the activated carbon reached 100% after 12 min. Kinetic analysis indicated that the adsorption of methyl orange solution by the activated carbon followed a pseudo-second-order kinetic mechanism (R² > 0.995). Therefore, the results show that the produced activated carbon can be used as a proper adsorbent for dye containing effluents.