Investigation of the Usability of High Sulfur Coal in Activated Carbon Production

Activated carbon was especially produced from wood, lignite, organic agricultural wastes such as coconut shale. In this study, high sulfur contained coal was used as a precursor to production of activated carbon. In the activated carbon production, physical activation method was applied and several operation parameters such as activation temperature (350-950 oC), activation time (5-120 min.) and particle size of coal samples (0,25-2 mm) were investigated. High sulfur contained coal samples has 56 m2/gr BET surface area. Produced activated carbons at optimum conditions have 485 m2/gr and 510 m2/gr BET surface areas in any gas inherent media and N2 gas media, respectively. Furthermore, abilities of removal of Cu2+ ions from solution of produced activated carbons were investigated. In both operation conditions, approximately 97% Cu2+ ions in solutions can be removed. As a result, it was determined that high sulfur coals caused environmental problems can be used in non-fuel areas