IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i22p6204-d284131.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Review of Chemicals to Produce Activated Carbon from Agricultural Waste Biomass

Author

Listed:
  • Kalu Samuel Ukanwa

    (Centre for Thermal Energy and Materials, School of Water, Energy and Environment, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UK)

  • Kumar Patchigolla

    (Centre for Thermal Energy and Materials, School of Water, Energy and Environment, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UK)

  • Ruben Sakrabani

    (Cranfield Soil and Agrifood Institute, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UK)

  • Edward Anthony

    (Centre for Thermal Energy and Materials, School of Water, Energy and Environment, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UK)

  • Sachin Mandavgane

    (Chemical Engineering Department, Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, South Ambazari Road, Nagpur 440010, Maharashtra, India)

Abstract

The choice of activating agent for the thermochemical production of high-grade activated carbon (AC) from agricultural residues and wastes, such as feedstock, requires innovative methods. Overcoming energy losses, and using the best techniques to minimise secondary contamination and improve adsorptivity, are critical. Here, we review the importance and influence of activating agents on agricultural waste: how they react and compare conventional and microwave processes. In particular, adsorbent pore characteristics, surface chemistry interactions and production modes were compared with traditional methods. It was concluded that there are no best activating agents; rather, each agent reacts uniquely with a precursor, and the optimum choice depends on the target adsorbent. Natural chemicals can also be as effective as inorganic activating agents, and offer the advantages that they are usually safe, and readily available. The use of a microwave, as an innovative pyrolysis approach, can enhance the activation process within a duration of 1–4 h and temperature of 500–1200 °C, after which the yield and efficiency decline rapidly due to molecular breakdown. This study also examines the biomass milling process requirements; the influence of the dielectric properties, along with the effect of washing; and experimental setup challenges. The microwave setup system, biomass feed rate, product delivery, inert gas flow rate, reactor design and recovery lines are all important factors in the microwave activation process, and contribute to the overall efficiency of AC preparation. However, a major issue is a lack of large-scale industrial demonstration units for microwave technology.

Suggested Citation

  • Kalu Samuel Ukanwa & Kumar Patchigolla & Ruben Sakrabani & Edward Anthony & Sachin Mandavgane, 2019. "A Review of Chemicals to Produce Activated Carbon from Agricultural Waste Biomass," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-35, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:22:p:6204-:d:284131
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/22/6204/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/22/6204/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Klinger, Jordan L. & Westover, Tyler L. & Emerson, Rachel M. & Williams, C. Luke & Hernandez, Sergio & Monson, Glen D. & Ryan, J. Chadron, 2018. "Effect of biomass type, heating rate, and sample size on microwave-enhanced fast pyrolysis product yields and qualities," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 228(C), pages 535-545.
    2. Phuphuakrat, Thana & Namioka, Tomoaki & Yoshikawa, Kunio, 2010. "Tar removal from biomass pyrolysis gas in two-step function of decomposition and adsorption," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(7), pages 2203-2211, July.
    3. Mushtaq, Faisal & Mat, Ramli & Ani, Farid Nasir, 2014. "A review on microwave assisted pyrolysis of coal and biomass for fuel production," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 555-574.
    4. Kan, Tao & Strezov, Vladimir & Evans, Tim J., 2016. "Lignocellulosic biomass pyrolysis: A review of product properties and effects of pyrolysis parameters," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 1126-1140.
    5. Lam, Su Shiung & Wan Mahari, Wan Adibah & Cheng, Chin Kui & Omar, Rozita & Chong, Cheng Tung & Chase, Howard A., 2016. "Recovery of diesel-like fuel from waste palm oil by pyrolysis using a microwave heated bed of activated carbon," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 115(P1), pages 791-799.
    6. Huang, Yu-Fong & Chiueh, Pei-Te & Kuan, Wen-Hui & Lo, Shang-Lien, 2016. "Microwave pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass: Heating performance and reaction kinetics," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 137-144.
    7. Beims, R.F. & Simonato, C.L. & Wiggers, V.R., 2019. "Technology readiness level assessment of pyrolysis of trygliceride biomass to fuels and chemicals," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 521-529.
    8. Plaza, M.G. & González, A.S. & Pis, J.J. & Rubiera, F. & Pevida, C., 2014. "Production of microporous biochars by single-step oxidation: Effect of activation conditions on CO2 capture," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 551-562.
    9. Kong, Sieng-Huat & Loh, Soh-Kheang & Bachmann, Robert Thomas & Rahim, Sahibin Abdul & Salimon, Jumat, 2014. "Biochar from oil palm biomass: A review of its potential and challenges," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 729-739.
    10. Ben-Iwo, Juliet & Manovic, Vasilije & Longhurst, Philip, 2016. "Biomass resources and biofuels potential for the production of transportation fuels in Nigeria," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 172-192.
    11. Danish, Mohammed & Ahmad, Tanweer, 2018. "A review on utilization of wood biomass as a sustainable precursor for activated carbon production and application," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 1-21.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Abdullah, Rose Fadzilah & Rashid, Umer & Ibrahim, Mohd Lokman & Hazmi, Balkis & Alharthi, Fahad A. & Nehdi, Imededdine Arbi, 2021. "Bifunctional nano-catalyst produced from palm kernel shell via hydrothermal-assisted carbonization for biodiesel production from waste cooking oil," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    2. Awal Noor & Sher Ali Khan, 2023. "Agricultural Wastes as Renewable Biomass to Remediate Water Pollution," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-19, February.
    3. Csaba Fogarassy & Laszlo Toth & Marton Czikkely & David Christian Finger, 2019. "Improving the Efficiency of Pyrolysis and Increasing the Quality of Gas Production through Optimization of Prototype Systems," Resources, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-14, December.
    4. Syafiqa Ayob & Wahid Ali Hamood Altowayti & Norzila Othman & Faisal Sheikh Khalid & Shafinaz Shahir & Husnul Azan Tajarudin & Ammar Mohammed Ali Alqadasi, 2023. "Experimental and Modeling Study on the Removal of Mn, Fe, and Zn from Fiberboard Industrial Wastewater Using Modified Activated Carbon," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-23, April.
    5. R. Maniarasu & Sushil Kumar Rathore & S. Murugan, 2023. "Biomass-based activated carbon for CO2 adsorption–A review," Energy & Environment, , vol. 34(5), pages 1674-1721, August.
    6. Cristina Moliner & Simona Focacci & Beatrice Antonucci & Aldo Moreno & Simba Biti & Fazlena Hamzah & Alfonso Martinez-Felipe & Elisabetta Arato & Claudia Fernández Martín, 2022. "Production, Activation and CO 2 Uptake Capacity of a Carbonaceous Microporous Material from Palm Oil Residues," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-12, December.
    7. Irina Kandić & Milan Kragović & Jugoslav B. Krstić & Jelena Gulicovski & Jasmina Popović & Milena Rosić & Vesna Karadžić & Marija Stojmenović, 2022. "Natural Cyanobacteria Removers Obtained from Bio-Waste Date-Palm Leaf Stalks and Black Alder Cone-Like Flowers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-29, May.
    8. Longfei Cui & Chaoyue Liu & Hui Liu & Wenke Zhao & Yaning Zhang, 2022. "Exergy Transfer Analysis of Biomass and Microwave Based on Experimental Heating Process," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.
    9. Mehdi Esmaeili Bidhendi & Zahra Poursorkh & Hassan Sereshti & Hamid Rashidi Nodeh & Shahabaldin Rezania & Muhammad Afzal Kamboh, 2020. "Nano-Size Biomass Derived from Pomegranate Peel for Enhanced Removal of Cefixime Antibiotic from Aqueous Media: Kinetic, Equilibrium and Thermodynamic Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-15, June.
    10. Minh Trung Dao & T. T. Tram Nguyen & X. Du Nguyen & D. Duong La & D. Duc Nguyen & S. W. Chang & W. J. Chung & Van Khanh Nguyen, 2020. "Toxic Metal Adsorption from Aqueous Solution by Activated Biochars Produced from Macadamia Nutshell Waste," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-11, September.
    11. Marcelina Sołtysik & Izabela Majchrzak-Kucęba & Dariusz Wawrzyńczak, 2022. "Bio-Waste as a Substitute for the Production of Carbon Dioxide Adsorbents: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-23, September.
    12. Abbas, Yasir & Yun, Sining & Wang, Ziqi & Zhang, Yongwei & Zhang, Xianmei & Wang, Kaijun, 2021. "Recent advances in bio-based carbon materials for anaerobic digestion: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    13. Sekhon, Satpal Singh & Kaur, Prabhsharan & Park, Jin-Soo, 2021. "From coconut shell biomass to oxygen reduction reaction catalyst: Tuning porosity and nitrogen doping," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Siddique, Istiaq Jamil & Salema, Arshad Adam & Antunes, Elsa & Vinu, Ravikrishnan, 2022. "Technical challenges in scaling up the microwave technology for biomass processing," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    2. Abomohra, Abd El-Fatah & Sheikh, Huda M.A. & El-Naggar, Amal H. & Wang, Qingyuan, 2021. "Microwave vacuum co-pyrolysis of waste plastic and seaweeds for enhanced crude bio-oil recovery: Experimental and feasibility study towards industrialization," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    3. Li, Jinglin & Lin, Li & Ju, Tongyao & Meng, Fanzhi & Han, Siyu & Chen, Kailun & Jiang, Jianguo, 2024. "Microwave-assisted pyrolysis of solid waste for production of high-value liquid oil, syngas, and carbon solids: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 189(PA).
    4. Lam, Su Shiung & Wan Mahari, Wan Adibah & Ok, Yong Sik & Peng, Wanxi & Chong, Cheng Tung & Ma, Nyuk Ling & Chase, Howard A. & Liew, Zhenling & Yusup, Suzana & Kwon, Eilhann E. & Tsang, Daniel C.W., 2019. "Microwave vacuum pyrolysis of waste plastic and used cooking oil for simultaneous waste reduction and sustainable energy conversion: Recovery of cleaner liquid fuel and techno-economic analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    5. Wan Adibah Wan Mahari & Nur Fatihah Zainuddin & Wan Mohd Norsani Wan Nik & Cheng Tung Chong & Su Shiung Lam, 2016. "Pyrolysis Recovery of Waste Shipping Oil Using Microwave Heating," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-9, September.
    6. Ge, Shengbo & Yek, Peter Nai Yuh & Cheng, Yoke Wang & Xia, Changlei & Wan Mahari, Wan Adibah & Liew, Rock Keey & Peng, Wanxi & Yuan, Tong-Qi & Tabatabaei, Meisam & Aghbashlo, Mortaza & Sonne, Christia, 2021. "Progress in microwave pyrolysis conversion of agricultural waste to value-added biofuels: A batch to continuous approach," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    7. Wajahat Ullah Khan Tareen & Zuha Anjum & Nabila Yasin & Leenah Siddiqui & Ifzana Farhat & Suheel Abdullah Malik & Saad Mekhilef & Mehdi Seyedmahmoudian & Ben Horan & Mohamed Darwish & Muhammad Aamir &, 2018. "The Prospective Non-Conventional Alternate and Renewable Energy Sources in Pakistan—A Focus on Biomass Energy for Power Generation, Transportation, and Industrial Fuel," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-49, September.
    8. Huang, Yu-Fong & Kuan, Wen-Hui & Chang, Chun-Yuan, 2018. "Effects of particle size, pretreatment, and catalysis on microwave pyrolysis of corn stover," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 696-703.
    9. Luo, Juan & Ma, Rui & Huang, Xiaofei & Sun, Shichang & Wang, Hao, 2020. "Bio-fuels generation and the heat conversion mechanisms in different microwave pyrolysis modes of sludge," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    10. Wan Mahari, Wan Adibah & Kee, Seng Hon & Foong, Shin Ying & Amelia, Tan Suet May & Bhubalan, Kesaven & Man, Mustafa & Yang, YaFeng & Ong, Hwai Chyuan & Vithanage, Meththika & Lam, Su Shiung & Sonne, C, 2022. "Generating alternative fuel and bioplastics from medical plastic waste and waste frying oil using microwave co-pyrolysis combined with microbial fermentation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    11. Nabila, Rakhmawati & Hidayat, Wahyu & Haryanto, Agus & Hasanudin, Udin & Iryani, Dewi Agustina & Lee, Sihyun & Kim, Sangdo & Kim, Soohyun & Chun, Donghyuk & Choi, Hokyung & Im, Hyuk & Lim, Jeonghwan &, 2023. "Oil palm biomass in Indonesia: Thermochemical upgrading and its utilization," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    12. Kan, Tao & Strezov, Vladimir & Evans, Tim & He, Jing & Kumar, Ravinder & Lu, Qiang, 2020. "Catalytic pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass: A review of variations in process factors and system structure," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    13. Li, Shuangjun & Yuan, Xiangzhou & Deng, Shuai & Zhao, Li & Lee, Ki Bong, 2021. "A review on biomass-derived CO2 adsorption capture: Adsorbent, adsorber, adsorption, and advice," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    14. Zhou, Chunbao & Chen, Yuanxiang & Xing, Xuyang & Chen, Lei & Liu, Chenglong & Chao, Li & Yao, Bang & Zhang, Yingwen & Dai, Jianjun & Liu, Yang & Wang, Jun & Dong, Jie & Li, Yunxiang & Fan, Dekai & Wan, 2024. "Pilot-scale pyrolysis and activation of typical biomass chips in an interconnected dual fluidized bed: Comparison and analysis of products," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C).
    15. Dai, Leilei & Wang, Yunpu & Liu, Yuhuan & Ruan, Roger & He, Chao & Yu, Zhenting & Jiang, Lin & Zeng, Zihong & Tian, Xiaojie, 2019. "Integrated process of lignocellulosic biomass torrefaction and pyrolysis for upgrading bio-oil production: A state-of-the-art review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 20-36.
    16. Mika Pahnila & Aki Koskela & Petri Sulasalmi & Timo Fabritius, 2023. "A Review of Pyrolysis Technologies and the Effect of Process Parameters on Biocarbon Properties," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-27, October.
    17. Tayibi, S. & Monlau, F. & Bargaz, A. & Jimenez, R. & Barakat, A., 2021. "Synergy of anaerobic digestion and pyrolysis processes for sustainable waste management: A critical review and future perspectives," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    18. Ellison, Candice Raffaela & Hoff, Ryan & Mărculescu, Cosmin & Boldor, Dorin, 2020. "Investigation of microwave-assisted pyrolysis of biomass with char in a rectangular waveguide applicator with built-in phase-shifting," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 259(C).
    19. Sivabalan Kaniapan & Suhaimi Hassan & Hamdan Ya & Kartikeyan Patma Nesan & Mohammad Azeem, 2021. "The Utilisation of Palm Oil and Oil Palm Residues and the Related Challenges as a Sustainable Alternative in Biofuel, Bioenergy, and Transportation Sector: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-25, March.
    20. Unyaphan, Siriwat & Tarnpradab, Thanyawan & Takahashi, Fumitake & Yoshikawa, Kunio, 2017. "Improvement of tar removal performance of oil scrubber by producing syngas microbubbles," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 802-812.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:22:p:6204-:d:284131. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.