Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

CHARACTERIZATION OF ACTIVATED CARBON PREPARED FROM CASSAVA PEEL FOR METHYLENE BLUE REMOVAL

Mariam Firdhaus Mad Nordin, Nur Atikah Rosli, Kamyar Shameli, Tomoyo Tsuji, Megat Johari Megat Mohd Noor, Rizki Wannahari and Ahmad Saufi Mohd Nawi

Abstract

Cassava peel derived from food processing in Malaysia is usually dumped as waste and sometimes permitted to rot openly without proper utilization. In this study, characterization of activated carbon (AC) produced from cassava peel undergoes chemical activation process using phosphorus acid (H3PO4), zinc chloride ZnCl2 and potassium hydroxide KOH as activating agent. AC produced was characterized by physical and chemical analysis. The physical and chemical analysis includes determination of moisture contents, pH values, ash contents, volatile matters, chemical elemental and morphological analysis. The performance of produced AC has been analysed through adsorption of methylene blue. From the results obtained in this study, it is shown that AC-ZnCl2 was more efficient as AC due to its lower moisture content, ash content and volatile matter content compared to others ACs. Based on the adsorption analysis of methylene blue, it has been observed that all AC produced were able to adsorb methylene blue from aqueous solution with percentage of removal more than 95%. Finally, it can be concluded that the cassava peel showed a promising prospect for application in methylene blue removal.