Production and characterization of bamboo-based activated carbon through single-step H₃PO₄ activation for CO₂ capture

Bamboo is the fastest-growing plant and is abundant in Malaysia. It is employed as a starting material for activated carbon production and evaluated for its potential in CO₂ capture. A single-stage phosphoric acid (H₃PO₄) activation is adopted by varying the concentrations of H₃PO₄ between 50 and 70 wt.% at a constant temperature and holding time of 500°C and 120 min, respectively. The bamboo-based activated carbons are characterized in terms of product yield, surface area, and porosity, as well as surface chemistry properties. Referring to the experimental findings, the prepared activated carbons have BET surface area of >1000 m² g^-1, which implies the effectiveness of the single-stage H₃PO₄ activation. Furthermore, the prepared activated carbon via 50 wt.% H₃PO₄ activation shows the highest BET surface area and carbon dioxide (CO₂) adsorption capacity of 1.45 mmol g^-1 at 25°C/1 bar and 9.0 mmol g^-1 at 25°C/30 bar. With respect to both the characterization analysis and CO₂ adsorption performance, it is concluded that bamboo waste conversion to activated carbon through H₃PO₄ activation method is indeed promising.