Preparation of Activated Carbons from Coconuts Shell for Pb (II) Adsorption

The purpose of this study is to prepare activated carbon from coconut shell to be used as an adsorbent for heavy metals. The coconut shell was carbonized at a temperature of 700°C and the resulting carbon is finely milled and sieved through No 200 mesh. Sulfuric acid is used as an activator for this process. The characteristics of the resulting activated carbon were tested and the results are as follows: moisture content 1.641%, ash content of 0.554%, iodine adsorption of 960.21 mg/g and the adsorption of methyl blue 212.1 mg/g. The small particle size of the activated carbon increases the surface area measured using BET method to 398.721 m2/g. Adsorption kinetic and adsorption efficiency of the activated carbon on Pb by batch method follow pseudo second-order equation order model with adsorption capacity at equilibrium equal to 24.491 mg per g Pb (II) adsorbent.