Thermal regeneration of activated carbon saturated with nitrate ions from an artisanal furnace

The present study was initiated to help the simple and less expensive regeneration of activated carbons after saturation in rural area. In order to determine a regeneration time and the number of regeneration cycles, an adsorption test was necessary. Thus, 3h and 4 cycles of carbon regeneration are obtained after evaluation of the performance, percentage and adsorption capacity after each cycle. Regeneration percentages of 71.29, 54.05, 40.40, 28.06 % and 72.6, 69.84, 64.33, 34.98 %for respective concentrations of 30± 1.2 mg/L and 55 ± 1.6 mg/L are observed. Also, the performances of activated carbon 8.5, 10, 12, 20 g/L and capacities 24.04, 19.93, 14.9 and 10.35mg/g 35.7, 34.12, 31.43 and 17.09 mg/g respectively for dry season and rainy season were necessary to fix the number of cycles. The artisanal furnace with its ease of installation and its maximum temperature of 500±2°C is suitable for the regeneration of saturated activated carbon.