Comparing the Effectiveness of Activated Carbons Synthesized from Palm Kernel Shell for the Removal of Rhodamine B Dye from an Aqueous Solution

Abstract

Activated carbons were prepared from Palm Kernel Shells (PKS) using Sulphuric acid (PKS_AC-H2SO4), Phosphoric acid (PKS_AC-H3PO4) and Zinc Chloride (PKS_AC-ZnCl2). They were characterised using the Fourier Transformed Infra-Red and X-ray diffraction techniques and applied in the removal of 5 ppm and 10 ppm concentration Rhodamine B (Rh B) aqueous solutions. The effect of contact time, the mass of adsorbent and change in dye concentration were assessed. The maximum percentage dye removal for 0.5 g was 96.43% for both concentrations with PKS_AC-ZnCl2.  99.54% was the highest for the 1.0g adsorbent of PKS_AC-H2SO4 obtained for both concentrations of the dye. The mass to concentration ratio 1.5g: 10 ppm indicated a 99.88% removal of Rhodamine B dye at the 180^th minute by PKS_AC-ZnCl2, signifying maximum percentage removal. The adsorption kinetics also showed that the process favoured the Pseudo second-order kinetics.