Characterization of activated carbon from corn cobs based on potassium hydroxide impurities and temperature

Mohamed Tarmizi, Nur Izzaty Shafiqah (2025) Characterization of activated carbon from corn cobs based on potassium hydroxide impurities and temperature. Project Report. Melaka, Malaysia, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka. (Submitted)

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Abstract

Activated carbon (AC) is highly advantageous man-made material due to its advanced pore structure. It is used in air and water purification, gas separation, catalyst support, and energy storage electrodes. AC absorb contaminant from air and water, making it ideal for purifying these hazardous-contaminant. AC can be made from carbon-rich materials including coal, wood, and coconut shell. This study focusses on the development of activated carbon from corn cob. Factorial design methods were employed in this project which utilizes potassium hydroxide (KOH) activation process. Three factors were set to investigate significant contribution to the porosity and carbonization namely (A) KOH purities (90 - 95.5%), (B) temperature (200 ˚C - 500˚C), and (C) KOH weight (10 - 100 gram). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX) were used to identify activated carbon's porosity, and carbonization element. In this study, sample 5 with (A) 95.5% KOH purities, (B) 500 ˚C temperature and (C) 10g KOH weight shows best activated carbon which is pores size in average distribution of 1.8 µm and the carbonization elemental composition which is 70.3%. Based on this study, activated carbon should have excellent adsorption and chemical removal properties. This study ensures that activated carbon meets these applications' criteria and performance standards.

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