Preparation of Charcoal by Combining Bio waste of Selected Fruits and Vegetables

Abstract

Bio waste produced from food is naturally biodegradable. The main process for recycling bio waste is pyrolysis, which converts it into charcoal. This study used banana and potato peels to prepare charcoal and investigate its adsorption performance in a combined form. Charcoal was prepared by the pyrolysis of sun-dried and oven-dried bio waste at 500 ℃ separately, then sieved through a 140-mesh screen. The prepared charcoal from both bio wastes was combined in different ratios. It was prepared in native form and activated under acidic and alkaline conditions with HCl and NaOH, respectively. Characterization of the native, acid-activated, and base-activated forms was done using XRD, FTIR, SEM, EDX, methylene blue value, iodine value, ash content, and moisture content. EDX showed that the charcoal contained about 6% impurities. It exhibited aromatic C-H bending and aromatic ring structures. The application of charcoal using methylene blue dye showed that the best adsorbent dose was 0.25 g, the contact time was 40 min, and the initial concentration was 214 ppm. The equilibrium data were best described by the Langmuir isotherm model, with an R² value of 0.999, indicating that the adsorption process was monolayer. The data collected through characterization and the application of the prepared charcoal from banana and potato bio waste demonstrate its effectiveness and high adsorption capacity.