Abstract

Saudi Arabian desert tree Acacia (Vachellia Seyal) used to produce Activated Carbon (AC) by phosphoric acid mediated chemical activation at low temperature. Characterization of AC done based on proximate and detailed analysis including Moisture content, Total Ash content, pH value, Iodine number, Methylene blue number, pore volume and BET surface area. Results revealed that properties of produced activated carbon (PAC) are comparable to commercial activated carbon (CAC). Low ash content and hardness making it suitable for water and wastewater treatment. Cost of production found to be less than $0.5/kg. Both AC used to treat wastewater containing Methylene Blue (MB) dye. Initially the removal efficiency of CAC is higher than the PAC however, both AC reached to similar removal (95.3% for PAC and 98.2% for CAC) within one hour. Growing demand of AC in the country can be meet by producing low cost locally available waste materials Acacia seyal tree branches.

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