Characterization of Waste Wood Biochar-Based Activated Carbon Synthesized by Hydrothermal Carbonization

The market for activated carbon is growing due to environmental awareness and strengthening of environmental regulations. Biochar is a solid carbide that is produced through a hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) process. Wood is an ideal raw material for activated carbon and biomass waste wood because it has low energy consumption rates and does not require pre-treatment to remove moisture. The activated carbon samples in this study were prepared by a chemical activation process using KOH, which is mainly used for activation. The study analyzed the specific surface area, pore volume, pore size, and pore distribution by selecting four samples with high iodine adsorption capacity among the prepared activated carbon samples. The specific surface area for all four samples was between 1192.2 and 1387.1 m²/g, all of which were over 1,000 m²/g, and the pore volume was between 0.6510 and 0.8030 cm³/g. During this process, micropores with an average pore size of 21 to 25 Å were formed. SEM photography revealed that these pores were uniform and that the number of pores increased according to activation levels of the carbon samples. When the iodine adsorptivity and specific surface area of commercial activated carbon was compared with that of activated carbon prepared by waste wood biochar with KOH, the specific surface area was higher in the activated carbon samples prepared by waste wood biochar with KOH. These results indicate that the adsorption of activated carbon by waste wood biochar with KOH is successful when applied to activated carbon samples.