Activated carbons obtained from sewage sludge by chemical activation: gas-phase environmental applications

The objective of this study was to evaluate the adsorption capacity for toluene and SO2 of low cost activated carbons prepared from sewage sludge by chemical activation at different impregnation ratios. Samples were characterized by proximate and ultimate analyses, thermogravimetry, infrared spectroscopy and N2 adsorption. Because of the low carbon content of the raw material, the development of porosity in the activated carbons was mainly of a mesoporous nature, with surface areas lower than 300 m(2)/g. The study of gas-phase applications for activated carbons from sewage sludge was carried out using both an organic and an inorganic compound in order to screen for possible applications. Toluene adsorption capacity at saturation was around 280 mg/g, which is a good level of performance given the high ash content of the activated carbons. However, dynamic experiments at low toluene concentration presented diffusion problems resulting from low porosity development. SO2 adsorption capacity is associated with average micropore size, which can be controlled by the impregnation ratio used to prepare the activated carbons.