PRODUCTION OF A NEW ACTIVATED CARBON PREPARED FROM PALM FRONDS BY THERMAL ACTIVATION

A new activated carbon has been thermally produced from palm fronds, obtained from palm trees, cultivated widely in desert areas. A (21.75%) yield of Palm Fronds Activated Carbon (PFAC) was obtained from via a physical method. Characterization of PFAC was studied. Welldeveloped porosities verified by SEM were about 14% higher than that of commercial activated carbon. The nature of the product was identified by XRD. The activation process caused both the formation of graphite layers and the increase in bulk density, the graphite layers occurred due to breaking of chemical bonds and carbon burn-off through weak carbon –CO2 oxidation. The development of micro porosity will lead to promising applications for the removal of metal ions, that can be achieved through the surface functional groups of PFAC, detected by FTIR. PFAC is very effective for the adsorption of methylene blue dye from aqueous solutions with great removal (99.5%).