| ARTICLES | Am. J. innov. res. appl. sci. Volume 2,  Issue 3, Pages 87-XX (March 2016)1

Research Article   PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MESOPOROUS FUNCTIONALIZED ACTIVATED CARBON FROM BOMBAX BUONOPOZENSE CALYX   | Musah Monday | Jonathan  Yisa | Abdullahi Mann | Mohammed  Abubakar Tanko Suleiman | and | Aliyu Ahmed |. American Journal of Innovative Research and Applied Sciences. 2016; 2(3):90-97.       | PDF FULL TEXT |       |Received | 28 January 2016|          |Accepted | 9 February 2016|         |Published 17 March 2016|

ABSTRACT Background: The quest for preparation of mesoporous functionalised activated carbon at competitive prices to meet industrial applications demand has been identified. Objective: This study therefore explores the use of two step activation methods with sulphuric acid and potassium hydroxide as activating agents in the conversion of Bombax buonopzense Calyx into adsorbent and subsequently treated with nitric acid to improve the oxygen content. Methods: Lignin, hemicelluloses and cellulose contents in Bombax buonopzense Calyx was analysed and compared with those exiting agricultural by-products. The prepared activated carbon was characterised by scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and thermo-gravimetric analyser (TGA) for its surface morphology, functional groups and thermal stability respectively. Surface area was determined by N2 adsorption technique. Results: Based on the analysis, the activated carbon contain smooth surfaces with long linear ridges and rough surfaces with oval ridges and mesopores with highly active surface properties attributed to the chemical functional groups, surface morphology which plays a significant role in determining the surface availability in an absorption process. Conclusion: It is inferred from the various results that Bombax buonopzense is a suitable agricultural by-product for good quality mesoporous functionalised activation carbon preparation. Keywords: Thermal stability; surface morphology; functional groups; pore size; surface area.

| ARTICLES | Am. J. innov. res. appl. sci. Volume 2,  Issue 3, Pages 87-89 (March 2016)

Research Article PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MESOPOROUS FUNCTIONALIZED ACTIVATED CARBON FROM BOMBAX BUONOPOZENSE CALYX      | Musah Monday | Jonathan  Yisa | Abdullahi Mann | Mohammed  Abubakar Tanko Suleiman | and | Aliyu Ahmed |. American Journal of Innovative Research and Applied Sciences. 2016; 2(3):90-97.       | PDF FULL TEXT |            |Received | 28 January 2016|          |Accepted | 9 February 2016|         |Published 17 March 2016|

ABSTRACT    Background: The quest for preparation of mesoporous functionalised activated carbon at competitive prices to meet industrial applications demand has been identified. Objective: This study therefore explores the use of two step activation methods with sulphuric acid and potassium hydroxide as activating agents in the conversion of Bombax buonopzense Calyx into adsorbent and subsequently treated with nitric acid to improve the oxygen content. Methods: Lignin, hemicelluloses and cellulose contents in Bombax buonopzense Calyx was analysed and compared with those exiting agricultural by-products. The prepared activated carbon was characterised by scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and thermo-gravimetric analyser (TGA) for its surface morphology, functional groups and thermal stability respectively. Surface area was determined by N2 adsorption technique. Results: Based on the analysis, the activated carbon contain smooth surfaces with long linear ridges and rough surfaces with oval ridges and mesopores with highly active surface properties attributed to the chemical functional groups, surface morphology which plays a significant role in determining the surface availability in an absorption process. Conclusion: It is inferred from the various results that Bombax buonopzense is a suitable agricultural by-product for good quality mesoporous functionalised activation carbon preparation. Keywords: Thermal stability; surface morphology; functional groups; pore size; surface area.