Optimisation of activated carbon production from baobab fruit shells by chemical activation with koh for the removal of phenol

Activated carbons (ACs) were produced from baobab fruit shell (BFS) by varying the operating parameters of activation temperatures, activation times, and impregnation ratios using response surface methodology (RSM). Adsorption tests on an aqueous solution of phenol were used to determine the optimum conditions for BF-ACs produced and central composite design (CCD) was used to determine the effects of the three preparation variables on the adsorption capacity of phenol. Based on the CCD, a quadratic equation was developed for the response, and from the analysis of variance (ANOVA), the most significant factor was specified. The results demonstrated that the optimal activated carbon which had the highest phenol adsorption capacity (93.56 mg/g) was obtained by these conditions as follows: the activation temperature of 700 °C, the activation time of 60 min, and IR of 2. Characterisation of the BF-AC produced showed that good quality adsorbents with the few functional groups and the distribution of the well-forming pores are found during the optimum production conditions. The highest BET surface area and micropore volume were 1263.127 m2/g and 0.453 cm3/g, respectively. It concluded that activated carbons produced from baobab fruit shells using KOH are suitable for the treatment of wastewaters from organic pollutants