Abstract :

Optimization of the yield and adsorptive effectiveness of activated carbon prepared with coconut fibre and potassium hydroxide (KOH) for the treatment of wastewater is presented. Different values of the operating parameters (activation temperature, X1 and impregnation ratio, X2) in the range of 350 to 550oC and 1 to 3g/g for an activation time of 5 min were used to investigate the activated carbon yield. The study used wastewater laden with iodine to ascertain the prepared activated carbon's capacity to absorb its iodine content. The experimental results obtained showed the values of activated carbon yield (Y1) to be in the range of 3.99 to 17.45%; whereas the iodine adsorption capacity (Y2) ranged between 44.140 and 192.070 mg/g, respectively. It was observed that when the activation temperature was kept constant and the impregnation ratio was increased, the activated carbon yield increased gradually and then dropped. The same trend was observed when the impregnation ratio was kept constant, while the activation temperature was varied. An optimization study was carried out to determine the combined effect of X1 and X2 on the values of Y1 and Y2 which were to be maximized to determine the optimum conditions for activated carbon yield and its adsorptive capacity for wastewater treatment. The results of the best fit achieved for all 10 possible runs showed optimum values of activation temperature, impregnation ratio and adsorption capacity as 354.592oC, 1.420g/g, and 4.830 mg/g, respectively. A suggestion for further studies is given.