Co-pyrolysis of Spent Tea Waste and Tangerine Peels with Different Catalysts (ZnCl2, H3PO4 and KOH) by Microwave-Assisted Pyrolysis

• Published in: Bioenergy research Vol. 16; no. 2; pp. 1099 - 1107
• Main Authors: Erkus, Hilal, Calhan, Rahman
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-06-2023; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Activated carbon; Adsorption; Alkali metals; Analysis; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Catalysts; Desorption; Fourier transforms; Hydroxides; Infrared analysis; Infrared spectroscopy; Irradiation; Isotherms; Life Sciences; Microwave radiation; Mixtures; Plant Breeding/Biotechnology; Plant Ecology; Plant Genetics and Genomics; Plant Sciences; Pore size; Pyrolysis; Scanning electron microscopy; Surface area; Surface chemistry; Thermogravimetric analysis; Wood Science & Technology; Zinc chloride; Microwave; Pyrolysis; Activated carbon; Tangerine peel; Tea waste
• ISSN: 1939-1234; 1939-1242
• DOI: 10.1007/s12155-022-10487-1

In this study, a mixture of tangerine peel (TP) and spent tea waste (STW) is used as a new precursor material to obtain a high surface area of activated carbon (AC) by a two-step chemical activation approach in microwave-assisted pyrolysis (MAP). In the first step, to produce AC from a mixture of TP and STW, samples were impregnated with alkali metal hydroxide and then ZnCl
2
, H
3
PO
4
and KOH were used as catalysts. All experiments were conducted under 600–700 W microwave power for 20 and 30 min. The obtained AC was characterized using nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherms, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis. The results showed a higher BET surface area in all samples at higher microwave power. The highest BET surface area was reached in AC activated with ZnCl
2
(STT1) at 700 W microwave power at 20 min of microwave irradiation time with 853.41 m
2
/g. Adsorption–desorption isotherms showed that the obtained ACs have micro and mesopores. While the highest micropore area was obtained in STT1 activated with ZnCl
2
at 423.83 m
2
/g, the average pore size was 1.173 nm.