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Facile, low-cost, and environment-friendly method for preparing peanut shell-based activated carbon: application to
Saeed Hassan Boroojerdi1, Mohsen Mir Mohammadi1, Farzad Bahadoran2
1Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Environment, University of Tehran Tehran Iran mirmohammadi.m@ut.ac.ir.
RSC Advances
|August 1, 2025
Summary
Activated carbon from peanut shells efficiently removes dichloromethane (DCM) using a novel physical-chemical method. This low-cost adsorbent offers a sustainable solution for industrial air purification, achieving high pollutant removal capacity.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Environmental Chemistry
- Chemical Engineering
Background:
- Hazardous air pollutants like dichloromethane (DCM) pose significant environmental risks.
- Activated carbon (AC) is a key material for adsorptive removal of volatile organic compounds.
- Developing cost-effective and sustainable AC production methods is crucial for environmental remediation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an innovative and cost-effective activated carbon (AC) from peanut shells for dichloromethane (DCM) removal.
- To optimize the AC synthesis process using a physical-chemical activation method with CO2 and potassium oxalate monohydrate (POM).
- To evaluate the adsorption performance and mechanism of the synthesized AC for DCM elimination.
Main Methods:
- Peanut shells were activated using a single-step physical-chemical method with CO2 and POM.
- Central Composite Circumscribed Design (CCCD) was employed to optimize synthesis parameters (temperature, impregnation ratio, CO2 flow rate) for surface area and yield.
- Characterization of AC properties (surface area, porosity, pore size distribution) and adsorption studies (isotherms, kinetics) were performed.
Main Results:
- Optimized activated carbon (POMCO2-AC) achieved a specific surface area (SBET) of 1100 m2 g-1 and a yield (YAC) of 21%.
- The adsorbent exhibited high porosity with 83% micropore distribution and efficient DCM removal capacity.
- Maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) was 298 mg g-1 at 273 K, with adsorption kinetics best described by pseudo-first-order and Langmuir models.
Conclusions:
- The novel preparation method effectively converts agricultural waste (peanut shells) into a high-performance adsorbent.
- The synthesized POMCO2-AC is a low-cost, efficient material for industrial-scale DCM removal from contaminated air.
- The study highlights a sustainable approach for hazardous air pollutant mitigation.
