TAMARIND SEEDS CARBON: PREPRARTION AND METHANE UPTAKE

Tamarind seeds carbon (TSC) from tamarind (Tamarindus indica) seeds, an agro-byproduct and waste that is available abundantly in the southern states of India, was prepared by chemical activation with KOH. The influence of tamarind seeds char to KOH weight ratio (1:1 to 1:4) and activation temperature (400 to 800 °C) were investigated. TSC having micro-pore volume as high as 1.0 cm3/g with surface area 2673 m2/g was obtained. TSC was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, and FT-IR spectroscopy. The potential of TSC to be used as a methane storage material was tested and compared with a commercial activated carbon. The highest methane adsorption capacity obtained for TSC was ca. 32.5 cm3/g at 30 °C and 1 bar. The maximum methane storage capacity achieved was 180 cm3/g at 30 °C and 35 bars.