Obtención y caracterización física de carbón activado a partir de semillas de guanábana (Annona muricata)

Abstract

The aim of this work was to obtain activated charcoal from the seeds of soursop (Annona muricata) in order to determine if it complies with characteristics similar to a commercial activated charcoal. By means of proximal analysis, previous tests on the precursor were carried out to determine if it meets the ideal characteristics; to this purpose, a particle diameter of 0.5mm was used, being decisive the ash content and volatiles of seeds. The process was carried out through the chemical activation method using zinc chloride and phosphoric acid as activating agents at the same concentration (50%) and 1:2 precursor-activating agent ratio. Three different treatments were established for each reagent where the working variables such as time and temperature for both activation and carbonization were based on bibliography related to other fruit seeds. Then, the carbonization of the carbon samples was carried out in a pyrolysis reactor so that the final product exhibits higher porosity and internal surface. Subsequently, activated carbon physicochemical parameters such as pH, ash, humidity, volatile matter, fixed carbon, IR spectrophotometry, apparent density, iodine number and surface area were determined. It was concluded that the best treatment conditions were in treatment 3 (T3) for both zinc chloride and phosphoric acid because they were samples that presented higher adsorption capacity, finding a surface area of 410.13 and 400.08 m2/g, iodine value 407,416 and 365,407 respectively. However, they do not meet the necessary specifications to be categorized as a commercial activated carbon in the country.