Pyrolysis self-activation: An environmentally friendly method to transform biowaste into activated carbon for arsenic...

A green method for production of activated carbon and combustible gas was introduced. Without any external reagents and gases, the H₂O and CO₂ produced by the pyrolysis of bamboo shoot shells were used as activators. The prepared activated carbon had good arsenic adsorption properties with the maximum adsorption capacities of 10.9 mg/g for As(III) and 16.0 mg/g for As(V). The gaseous products were mostly CO and H₂, with higher heating value of 11.7 MJ/Nm³. Thermogravimetric experiments were performed in N₂, H₂O and CO₂ atmospheres to simulate the self-activation process and investigate the self-activation mechanism. This work will help to improve the competitiveness of self-activation technology and reduce the production cost of activated carbon.