Effect of Activation Temperature on the Properties and Adsorption Performance of Eucalyptus robusta Based Activated Carbon

Activated carbons were prepared from fast-growing Eucalyptus robusta bark by potassium pyrophosphate activation. The effects of different dosage ratio (activating agent/raw material), activation temperature, heating rate and activation time were investigated by response surface method. The physicochemical properties of activated carbon in various carbonization temperature preparation were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), surface area and pore size analyzer. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), laser-Raman spectrum(LRS) and the adsorption performance of fast-growing Eucalyptus robusta bark activated carbon on iodine and tetracycline hydrochloride were analyzed. It was found that the optimal process conditions were obtained by the quadratic polynomial model as the followings:The dosage ratios was 0.9. The temperature was 710℃. The heating rate was 30℃·min^-1. The activation time was 30 min. The specific surface area of the obtained activated carbon was 611.373 m²·g^-1. The pore volume was 0.537 9 cm³·g^-1. The average pore diameter was 3.52 nm. The adsorption value of activated carbon for iodine was 1 225 mg·g^-1. The adsorption of tetracycline hydrochloride by fast-growing Eucalyptus robusta bark activated carbon was controlled by pore size distribution and surface chemistry and the adsorption behavior was consistent with the Langmuir model.