Optimization Study of Preparation Eucalyptus Trees Activated Carbon for Removal of Methylene Blue Dye from Aqueous Solution

Abstract

Mesoporous activated carbon were  prepared from eucalyptus trees stalks (ES) using physiochemical activation method, which  consisted of potassium hydroxide (KOH) treatment and carbon dioxide (CO2) gasification. Based on the central composite design (CCD), two factor interaction (2FI) and quadratic models were respectively employed to correlate preparation of the activated carbon with these variables. The effects of the activation temperature, activation time and chemical impregnation ratios on the carbon yield and methylene blue removal were investigated. From the analysis of variance (ANOVA), the most influential factor on each experimental design response was identified. The optimum conditions for preparing activated carbon from eucalyptus stalks were found to be activation temperature of 650 oC, activation time of 0.5 h and chemical impregnation ratio of 2.5. The carbon yield was found to be 22.3% while the removal of methylene blue was found to be 89%.

Keywords: Eucalyptus stalks; Optimization; Activated carbon; Adsorption; Methylene blue.