Synthesis and Characterization of Activated Carbons from Avocado Kernel; Application to Phenol Removal

Taba To’ora Kaga^{1, 2,} , Kwamivi Nyonuwosro Segbeaya^{1, 3}, Virginie Pallier⁴ and Geneviève Feuillade⁴

¹Laboratory of Waste Treatment and Recovery Management, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lomé, Togo

²Organic Chemistry and Environmental Science Laboratory, University of Kara, Togo;Water and Environment Limoges, ENSIL-ENSCI, University of Limoges, France

³Organic Chemistry and Environmental Science Laboratory, University of Kara, Togo

⁴Water and Environment Limoges, ENSIL-ENSCI, University of Limoges, France

Cite this paper:
Taba To’ora Kaga, Kwamivi Nyonuwosro Segbeaya, Virginie Pallier and Geneviève Feuillade. Synthesis and Characterization of Activated Carbons from Avocado Kernel; Application to Phenol Removal. American Journal of Materials Science and Engineering. 2024; 12(1):1-12. doi: 10.12691/ajmse-12-1-1

Abstract

Water pollution is characterized by the presence of a wide variety of substances found in significant quantities in this environmental compartment, which requires the installation of high-performance treatments. Among the multiple technics of treatment, one can mention the adsorption on activated carbons which enable the retention of organic molecules. This led to the development of high-cost granular activated carbons to specifically reduce some micro-pollutants or macro-molecules. This work aims at designing a low-cost activated carbon adsorbent material by giving it properties to adsorb a broad spectrum of the pollutant load of effluents rich in organic molecules such as landfill leachate. The first phase of this study involved the synthesis of activated carbon from avocado core with optimization of manufacturing conditions, followed by physical and chemical characterization. Activated carbon with the highest iodine index value (1506 mg.g^-1) and the highest specific surface area (862 m².g^-1) was obtained. FTIR results confirms the presence of carboxylic functional groups, lactones and phenols. Phenol removal tests were carried out in batch mode to evaluate the adsorbent performance. Results showed that equilibrium was reached during a contact time of 60 min for an adsorption capacity of 48 mg.g^-1. The study of adsorption kinetics revealed the adequacy of the pseudo-second order kinetic model. These results show that avocado kernels would be good adsorbent for organic compounds in solution.

Keywords:
avocado kernels adsorption activated carbon leachate

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