PURIFICATION OF AIR USING IMPREGNATED ACTIVATED CARBON PRODUCED FROM COCONUT SHELL

International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056
Volume: 09 Issue: 07 | July 2022 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072
© 2022, IRJET | Impact Factor value: 7.529 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal | Page 375
PURIFICATION OF AIR USING IMPREGNATED ACTIVATED CARBON
PRODUCED FROM COCONUT SHELL
Sherly Hazel Monica E R A, Prof. M. A Chinnamma, Assistant prof. Anitha .K
1Sherly Hazel Monica E R A, Dept. of civil engineering, Malabar college of engineering, Kerala, India
2Prof. M.A Chinnamma, Dept. of civil engineering, Malabar college of engineering, Kerala, India
3Assistant prof. Anitha.K., Dept. of civil engineering, Malabar college of engineering, Kerala, India
---------------------------------------------------------------------***--------------------------------------------------------------------
Abstract - As the industrial areas are the most prone areas
that contributes to the air pollutants now a days, it is
necessary to reduce the outcomes of air pollutions from thess
areas by using some methods. Inspite of this scenario, I have
selected one of the most polluted industrialareaofKeralathat
is Edayar, Eloor belt in Ernakulam district forcarryingoutthe
study. As several industries are situated in this area and
almost all industries here contribute towards air pollution
which are more acidic in nature. So, in this study the
impregnated activated carbon produced from coconut shell is
adopted as a medium to absorb all kinds of air pollutants
present in the air particularly carbon dioxide, Sulphur dioxide,
oxides of nitrogen etc which are the most serious polluting
gases that would harm both the environment and the human
being as well. And also in this study we present the adsorption
capacity of impregnated activated carbon (ac) preparedfrom
coconut shells at various optimum temperatures of25°C,35°C
,45°C and/or high concentration of impregnation(~20mol%)
which were examined by me and there corresponding
characteristics have been plotted by carrying out the the test
in the company Activated Carbon Production
Limited(ACPL)also known as Indo German chemicals ltd in
Edayar, Eloor belt, with the use of a fixed-bed column
adsorption system designed and developed intheindustryand
also the kinetic and thermodynamic parameters of the
coconut shell impregnated activated carbon was analyzed in
detail for acidic gases like carbon dioxide, Sulphur dioxide,
oxides of nitrogen and the results were interrupted. Research
on the adsorption of impregnated activated carbon (ac)
produced from coconut shell adsorbentshasgainedsignificant
interest due to their low cost, low regeneration energy, and
ecofriendly characteristics. This would help us in future to
meet out the pollution problem at economical way and also
there by preparing a filter medium of appropriate quality to
absorb the air pollutants and thereby saving the universe and
also the future generation from this serious problem.
Key Words: Air pollution, coconut shell, Impregnated
activated carbon, carbon dioxide, Sulphur dioxide, oxides of
nitrogen.
1. INTRODUCTION
As days proceed pollution is increasing day by day in the
case of air and water. Air pollution has become moreserious
than water pollution as the control on air is very less
compared to water and we inhale air continuously
throughout our life. Air gets contaminated due to several
reasons, two of the most prominent ones being chemical
factories and vehicles. At present the air has started been
polluted by microorganisms like virus and bacteria as well.
There are several ways by which the air gets polluted.
Chemicals and related industries are the main source of air-
pollution. The other sources are motor vehicles running on
fossil fuels and natural gas. The increased population also
pollutes the air by several means by generating different
kinds of pollutants. Exceptthetreeshavingchlorophyl which
produce oxygen during day time by photosynthesis all other
living entities pollute the air by carbon dioxideandconsume
oxygen. If we have to survive on earth for long, we should
have to have strict control on the emission of pollutants to
the air
The aim of the present project is to provide solution to the
polluting industries by providingthemsuitablefilterssothat
the outgoing air is purified from pollutants. For the purpose
of this study the most polluted area of Kerala, namely
Edayar-Eloor area of Kochi is selected where in several
pollutants are let out by several industries freely into the
atmosphere. If this trend continues oxygen parlours will be
required for getting pure air in this area. Otherwise,wehave
to fix suitable carbon filters at the exhaust from which
pollutants are coming out as emissions from the industry.
As far as pollution from the vehicles is concerned, vehicles
give out carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and unburnt
hydrocarbons into the air. The out-let of the exhaust of the
engine should be attached to a filter which can removethese
pollutants so that the air coming out will be pure. Now
several thousands of vehicles are polluting the atmosphere
and in some of the Indian cities it has becomea seriousissue.
So even in the absence of polluting industries the air can get
polluted due to large number of vehicles. Such a situation
will become imminent in cities like Kochi.
Of the gases emitted by vehicles CO is very poisonous. Itisas
poisonous as cyanide. CO will get attached to hemoglobin of
blood and stop the oxygen supply to the cells. CO forms a
permanent bond with the iron of the hemoglobin and will
stop acting as the oxygen carrier from lungs to heart. Thus
the affected person will die immediately due to the lack of
oxygen in the cells. The other pollutant given out by the

vehicles is CO2. Even though CO2 as such is not a poison,
being heavier than air it accumulates on the surface ofearth.
It gets filled in drainages and unused wells and cuts off
oxygen supply. This leads to the deathofpersons entering to
such pits. Its concentration in the air increases the
atmospheric temperature as it is a polar molecule and
absorbs infrared radiations entering the air. Unburnt
hydrocarbons will go directly to the lungs and gets settled
there and thus reduces oxygen absorption capacity of the
lungs. By constant inhalation of this, the total oxygen
availability in the blood decreases to a great extent and will
lead to several diseases.
Pollutants from vehicles include oxides of carbon, sulphur
and unburned hydrocarbons. Pollutants from factories
include a wide spectrum of chemicals depending on the
factory itself. These can include oxides of nitrogen, sulphur
etc. Almost all of these oxides are acidic in nature. Yet
another type of pollutants is ammonia Hydrogen sulphide
and mercaptans (thiols) etc... Almost all of these pollutants
are harmful to living beings. Satisfactory solution to purify
the air from pollution is the very need of the hour. Some
cities like New Delhi have alreadycomeundertheclutchesof
pollution making the life unbearablefortheinhabitants.This
can happen for our city also in the near future. Even though
some attempts were made to curtail theproblemofpollution
by different agencies none of them have really succeeded
and a permanent solution was not yet arrived at. The aim of
the project is to approach the problem of pollutionandsolve
it. Activated carbon has been identified as the material to
fight against air pollution. The reason for selecting this
material was due to the fact that carbon can be activatedand
impregnated with a wide variety of materials to curtail the
pollution wherein the pollutants never attack the carbon
(the base) whereas many base materials like zeolites react
with the pollutants and thus gets degraded by itself.Carbon
has three allotropes and out of this amorphous carbon is
selected for the purpose due to its easy availability and low
cost. The 3 forms of amorphous carbons that are easily
available are (i) wood carbon (ii) coal carbon and (iii)
coconut carbon. Of the three, coconut carbon is the best
suited for air purification. Being a natural material, its
disposal is not a series problem. The project was carried out
in ACPL Binanipuram, which is one of the earliest activated
coconut carbon manufacturing company in the country.
1.1 OBJECTIVES OF THE PRESENT STUDY
2. To investigate the adsorption efficiency of chemically
treated activated carbon produced from coconut shell
for various polluting gases like carbon dioxide, Sulphur
dioxide, oxides of nitrogen etc.
3. To understand the suitability of varioustemperaturefor
the adsorption of various pollutant gases on to the
chemically treated activated carbon produced from
coconut shell.
4. As far as pollution from the vehicles is concerned,
vehicles give out carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and
unburnt hydrocarbons into the air. The out-let of the
exhaust of the engine should be attached to a filter
which can remove thesepollutantslikeCO2andunburnt
hydrocarbons so that the air coming out will be pure.
5. The present study aims to investigate the adsorption of
carbon dioxide, Sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen
using chemically treated activated carbon utilizing
specifically acidic
1.2 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT
1.The study should focus on the selection of reusable
chemical compound for the chemical activation of activated
carbon. That the process may involve a complex recovery
and recycle of the activating agent that generates problems
in the recovery and disposal of adsorbed materials.
2.Using impregnated activated carbon completely
elimination of pollution from industrial areas andvehicles is
to be achieved or suitable recommendations is to be made.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
Olivares-Marin M et al (2011) The adsorption process of
carbon dioxide, Sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, carbon
monoxide on a solid adsorbent, can be easily exploited for
several applications aimed to these approaches. Several
effective methods of carbon capture and storage (CCS), such
as adsorption, membrane separation and cryogenic
separation, have been proposed to reduce the amount of
emitted CO2 in the atmosphere.
S. Sumathi, et al (2009) and A. Arami-Niya, et al (2019)
Activated carbon has been known as the most effective and
useful adsorbents for the removal of pollutants from
polluted gas and liquid streams. This is due to theproperties
of activated carbons which have a large active surface area
which can provide high adsorption capacity, well developed
porous structures and good mechanical properties. In
addition, activated carbon is most widely used since most of
its chemical (e.g. surface groups) and physical properties
(e.g. surface area and pore size distribution)canbedesigned
and adjusted according to the required application. Besides,
the adsorption on activated carbon appears to be most
common techniques because of its simplicity of operation
since the sorbents material canbemadehighlyefficient,easy
to handle and in some cases they can be regenerated.
El-Shafey et al, (2016) Physical adsorption on activated
carbons has been widely used for the applications of
1. To provide a solution for industrial air pollution by
letting the polluted exhaust from the industries
through a suitable filters so that the outgoing air is
purified from pollutants.

separation and purification of gases and adsorption based
gas storage systems. To design and develop these systems, it
is important to determine the adsorption isotherms and
isosteric heat of adsorptionoftheadsorbateadsorbentpairs.
In recent years, considerable attention has been focused on
removal of pollutants by using adsorbentsderivedfromlow-
cost agro-wastes. Adsorption processes are generally
performedusingactivatedcarbonandpolymeric adsorbents.
He also revealed that activated carbon can capture CO2 and
SO2 because it consists of a large surface area per unit
volume and submicroscopic pores, in which contaminant
adsorption occurs. Moreover, activated carbon is stable
under acidic and basic conditions. It is also cost effective
because it can be regenerated and thus suitable for organic
compound removal. Considering cost effectiveness in
activated carbon production, researchers developed
different precursors from abundant wastematerials,suchas
palm shells, sea mango, cocoa pod shells, and rice husks. For
instance, successfully produced activated carbon from rice
husks and utilized it to remove CO2 and SO2 generatedfrom
industrial activities as well.
3.METHODOLOGY
3.1 COCONUT SHELL
Coconut shell (CS) is selected for activated carbon
preparation. CS was collected from the local community in
Kerala. The materials were cleaned with distilled water
several times to remove dust and impurities. CS samples
were later dried in the oven at 110oC for 24h to remove any
surface moisture and were thengroundtoa desiredsize.The
proximate and ultimate analysiswerecarriedoutto evaluate
the volatiles and fixed carbon contents as well as to quantify
the elemental composition, respectively. Coconut shell (CS)
is selected for activatedcarbonpreparation.CS wascollected
from the local community in Kerala. The materials were
cleaned with distilled water several times to remove dust
and impurities. CS samples were later dried in the oven at
110oC for 24h to remove any surface moisture and were
then ground to a desired size. The proximate and ultimate
analysis were carried out to evaluate the volatiles and fixed
carbon contents as well as to quantify the elemental
composition, respectively.
3.2 PREPARATION OF ACTIVATED CARBON
3.2.1 Activated carbon preparation
Carbon can be activated in two ways one of the main is
Physical activation:
Coconut shell (CS) were loaded into a stainless steel reactor,
which was heated up by an electrical tube furnace. In the
initial stage, the reactor was heated up to 300oC and was
kept at this temperature for 30 minutes. The temperature
was later ramped up to about 800oC. At this rate, CS was
completely pyrolyzed. Water was then injected at the flow
rate of 120 ml/hr to the reactor to activate the samples. The
reaction between steam and carbon was taken place and
pore was generated. After completingtheactivationprocess,
the reactor was cool down, the samples was taken out and
washed using distilled water.
Fig-1: Flow diagram of preparation of steam activated
activated carbon.
The use of steam for activation can be applied to virtually all
raw materials. A variety of methods have been developed
but all of these share the same basic principle of initial
carbonization at 500-600 degrees C followed by activation
with steam at 800-975 degrees C. Since the overall reaction
(converting carbon to carbon dioxide) is exothermic it is
possible to utilize this energy and have a self-sustaining
process.
C + H2O (steam) ---> CO + H2 (-31 Kcal)
CO + ½ O2 ---> CO2 (+67 Kcal)
H2 + ½ O2 ---> H2O (steam) (+58 Kcal)
C + O2 ---> CO2 (+94 Kcal)
Raw material is introduced through a hopper on top of the
retort and falls under gravity through a central ducttowards
the activation zone. As the raw material moves slowly down
the retort the temperature increases to 800-9750C and full
carbonization takes place. The activationzone,atthe bottom
of the retort, covers only a small part of the total area
available and it is here that steam activation takes place. Air
is bled into the furnace to convert the product gases, CO and
H2 into CO2 and steam which, because of the exothermic
nature of this reaction, reheats the firebricks on the
downside of the retort, enabling the process to be self-
supporting. Every 15 minutesorso,thesteaminjectionpoint
is alternated to utilize the “in situ” heating provided by the
product gas combustion. The degree of activation (or
quality) of the product is determined by the residence time
in the activation zone. The resulting product is in the form of

1” to 3” pieces and requires further processing before being
suitable for its various end uses. This entails a series of
crushing and screening operations to produce specificmesh
ranges. Certain products may undergo further processing
such as drying, acid washing or chemical impregnation to
satisfy particular requirements.
3.2.2 IMPREGNATION PROCESS :
The best activated carbon from physical and chemical
activation were loaded with 5wt%,10wt% ,15wt% and
20wt% of selected different materials (NaOH, KOH and
K2CO3) to enhance the selective adsorption capacity of the
adsorbent. The selection of 5wt% concentration for all
materials was based on the preliminary study. Initially, the
solutions of materials were prepared in a beaker and a
required amount of activated carbon was added into the
solution. The mixture was left for 24 h at room temperature,
then the excess solution was filtered out and the solid mass
was dried at 70-80 °C in oven for overnight. The dried
sample was then placed in the same stainless steel reactor
and was heated up to 750oC and was left the reactor at this
temperature for 1 h under the flow of nitrogengasattherate
of 200 ml/min. After 1h, the reactor temperature was cool
down to room temperature, and the product was taken out
and stored in a desiccator.
3.2.3. EXPERIMENTAL SET UP FOR ADSORPTION
The scheme of the experimental setupisshowninFigbelow.
A fixed-bed reactor set-up for gaseous adsorption
experiments was designed and built at the Active char
Products Pvt Ltd, Edayar, Ernakulam. For this the Activated
Coconut Carbon was used to eliminatecontaminantspresent
in air in a polluted industrial area. Column was packed with
Activated Carbon and contaminated air was passed through
it under normal conditions. As a typical contaminant SO2,
CO2, NO and CO was chosen. Concentration of the inlet and
outlet were measured using gas detectors. A 1000ppm SO2,
CO2, and NO in Nitrogen was used for the purpose.
Experiment was conducted by passing this gas mixture
through the carbon packed in gas column of height 4 cm and
diameter 2 cm. It was found that the gas mixture coming out
from the column was free from SO2. The passing of gas
mixture through the column was continued until the outlet
showed a concentration of 50 ppm of SO2, CO2, NO.
TABLE -1: The details of experimental setup are shown in
the table below:
The flow rate of CO2 and N2 mixture are controlled by a
mass flow controllers, max flow 600 ml/minanda metering
valve coupled with a mass flow meter. The fixed-bed
adsorption of CO2 from CO2/N2 mixtures on activated
carbon was studied. The single component adsorption
equilibrium of CO2 and N2 were measured at feed
concentration of 15mol%, temperature of 25 C, 35 C and
45 C and feed flow rate of 50ml/min. The inlet and outlet
gases concentrations are analysed with GasChromatograph.
The adsorption process was continued up to the saturation
point where the outlet concentration of CO2 reached the
inlet concentration of CO2.
Fig – 2: Picture of the testing apparatus
3.2.4 ISOTHERMAL GASEOUS ADSORPTION
The commercial activated carbon of size 8x30 are compared
with AC impregnated with NaOH, K2CO3, KOH, FeCl2 etc at
different concentration of 10mol%, 15mol% and 20mol%
are used. The experiment is conducted at different
temperature of 25°C, 35°C and 45°C with a constant flow of
50ml/min mixture of 15mol% CO2, SO2 etcand85mol% N2.
Prior to the adsorption process, the sample materials were
weighed using a thermal gravimetric analyser (EXSTAR
TG/DTA 6300) under a vacuum condition, to ensure that
excess moisture had been entirelyremoved. Ina similarway
gas adsorbed AC is also weighed. The amount of gas
adsorbed on adsorbents (S mol/gram) at a certain time (t
sec) at a constant temperature and inlet concentration can
be determined by
CO2 Adsorption Capacity = [wt (mg)-w0(mg)] /w0(g)
Where, wt and wo represents mass ofadsorbentattimet
and original mass of adsorbent.
The adsorption capacity is reported as the number of mol of
CO2 adsorbed per kg of adsorbent (mol/kg) and it can be
converted to mg/g by multiplying by 44(CO2 molecular
weight).
height
of the
carbon
column
Diameter
of the
carbon
column
Concentration
of inlet gas
mixture
Concentration
of outlet gas
mixture
Retension
Time
4 cm 2 cm 1% SO2,(CO2)
and 99%
Nitrogen
50 ppm 28 min

4. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
The aim of the present project is to provide solution to the
polluting industries by providingthemsuitablefilterssothat
the outgoing air is purified from pollutants. Activated
Coconut Carbon was found to be a very good material for
adsorbing common pollutantspresentinindustrial area.The
fixed-bed adsorption of gaseous from CO2 or SO2 or NO and
N2 mixtures on activated carbon was studied. The single-
component adsorption equilibriumofCO2(SO2,NO,CO)and
N2 were measured at 25 C, 35 C and 45 C.
Fig -2 4x 30 size, impregnated coconut shell activated
carbon.
Table-2: Consolidated lab report of CSAC samples
Parameters of Adsorbent
Test
Metho
d
AST
M D
286
7
AC
PL
T
M
ASTM
2854
ASTM
D
6556
AST
MD
4607
Sl
No
Sampl
e
Parti
cle
size
Moi
stur
e %
%
of
im
pr
eg
na
tio
n
Appar
ent
Densit
y g/cc
BET
Surfa
ce
area
m2/g
Iodin
e
value
mg/g
1 CSAC 4x30 7 0.480 1128 1125
2 5%K2
CO3I
mCSA
C
4 x
30
10 5.0
2
0.560 1085 1070
3 10%
K2CO
3 Im
CSAC
4x30 11 10.
02
0.580 960 964
4 15%K
2CO3
Im
CSAC
4x30 11.5 15.
03
0.610 850 862
5 20%
K2CO
3Im
CSAC
4x30 12.0
1
20.
02
0.624 780 785
6 5%KO
H Im
CSAC
4x30 12.2 4.9
8
0.528 1035 1051
7 10%K
OH Im
CSAC
4x30 11.6 10.
04
0.580 975 980
8 15%K
OH Im
CSAC
4x30 12.4 15.
01
0.610 861 870
9 20%K
OH Im
CSAC
4x30 11.8 20.
06
0.630 790 800
10 10.01
%Cu
Im
CSAC
4x30 12.3 12.
01
0.595 960 948
11 10%N
aOH
Im
CSAC
4x30 12.6 10.
04
0.560 970 950
12 15%N
aOH
Im
CSAC
4x30 11.2 15.
01
0.590 850 870
13 20%N
aOH
Im
CSAC
4x30 12.6 20.
04
0.630 800 790
14 10%H
2SO4
Im
CSAC
4x30 11.2 10.
03
0.575 979 965
15 20%H
2SO4
Im
CSAC
4x30 11.2 10.
03
0.574 978 965
16 10.02
%HCL
Im
CSAC
4x30 11.4 12 0.560 1040 1048
17 10%K
MnO4
Im
CSAC
4x30 12.0
3
11.
6
0.590 980 950

4.1 FINAL INTERRUPTION
Coconut Shell can be used as the perfect raw material to
prepare activated carbon with high surface area for CO2
(SO2, NO etc) adsorption rate.Amongthepreparedactivated
carbons, CS produces the activated carbon with high surface
area (1128 m2/g) using physical activation techniques. The
best of physical and chemical activated carbon were loaded
with different alkali to further improve their adsorption.
Fig – 3 Certificate of Analysis of Carbon used is being
attached herewith.
4.2 Comparison of Adsorption capacity of samples
at 25°C, 35°C and 45°C
Adsorption capacity of CSAC impregnated with different
materials at different concentrations of 5%,10%,15% and
20% at temperatures25°C,35°Cand 45°C are tabulated in
tables below:
Table- 3 Adsorption capacity of samples at 25°C(Carbon
dioxide)
Comparison of adsorbtion capacity of impregnated activated
carbon at 25° C and flow rate of 50ml/min
Materia
ls
part
icle
size
Mass
of AC
in
bed
Mass of
AC
afterad
sorpt
ion
Mass of
adsorb
ate,C
O2
Mass/
gram
Adsorp
ti on
Capacit
y ,
mg/g
COCUN
UT
SHELL
AC
4x3
0
10.9
8
22.457 11.477 1.045 10.453
5%K2C
O3 lm
CSAC
4x3
0
10.3
4
67.11 56.77 5.490 54.903
10%K2
CO3
lmCSAC
4x3
0
10.5
47
68.23 57.683 5.469 54.691
15%K2
CO3 lm
CSAC
4x3
0
10.6
9
69.11 58.42 5.465 54.649
20%
K2CO3
lm
CSAC
4x3
0
10.8
1
73.12 62.31 5.764 57.641
5%KO
H CSAC
4x3
0
11.0
4
96.023 84.983 7.698 76.977
10%
KOH
CSAC
4x3
0
11.2
1
97.68 86.47 7.714 77.136
15%KO
H CSAC
4x3
0
11.4
6
100.97 89.51 7.811 78.106
20%KO
H CSAC
4x3
0
11.7
3
104.64 92.91 7.921 79.207
5%NA
OH
CSAC
4x3
0
11.0
0 4
88.012 77.008 6.998 69.982
10%NA
OH
CSAC
4x3
0
11.0
8 7
89.21 78.123 7.046 70.464
15%
NAOH
CSAC
4x3
0
11.2
3 3
91.56 80.327 7.151 71.510
20%NA
OH
CSAC
4x3
0
11.3
2
93.16 81.84 7.230 72.297
At 25°C maximum adsorption capacity of CSAC &
impregnated CSAC with K2CO3, NaOH and KOH are found to
be 10.453,57.641, 72.297 & 79.207 mg/gfora concentration
of 20mol% impregnation.

Table – 4: Adsorption capacity of samples at 35°C
(Carbon dioxide).
Comparison of adsorbtion capacity of impregnatedactivated
carbon at 35 °C and flow rate of 50ml/min
Materi
als
particle
size
Mass
of AC
in
bed
Mas
s of
AC
afte
rad
sor
pt
ion
Mass
of
adsor
bate,
CO2
Mass/g
ram
Adsorpti
on
Capacity
, mg/g
COCU
NUT
SHELL
AC
4x30 10.9 22.0
1
11.11 1.019 10.193
5%K2
CO3
lm
CSAC
4x30 10.2
1
58.2
31
48.02
1
4.703 47.033
10%K
2CO3
lmCSA
C
4x30 10.5
2
61.8
9
51.37 4.469 48.831
15%K
2CO3
lm
CSAC
4x30 10.6
9
63.6
5
52.97 4.960 49.597
20%
K2CO
3 lm
CSAC
4x30 10.8
6
66.2
13
55.35
3
5.097 50.970
5%KO
H
CSAC
4x30 11.4
5
79.2
1
67.76 5.918 59.179
10%
KOHC
SAC
4x30 11.2
1
81.1
2
69.91 6.236 62.364
15%K
OH
CSAC
4x30 11.5
1
83.2
1
71.7 6.229 62.294
20%K
OH
CSAC
4x30 11.7
2
85.1 73.39 6.262 62.619
5%NA
OH
CSAC
4x30 11.2
5
72.1
2
60.87 5.411 54.107
10%N
AOH
CSAC
4x30 11.0
7
72.5
3
61.46 5.552 55.519
15%
NAOH
CSAC
4x30 11.3
1
74.9
8
63.67 5.630 56.295
20%N
AOH
CSAC
4x30 11.3
3
76.8
9
65.56 5.786 57.864
impregnated CSAC with K2CO3, NaOH and KOH are found
to be 10.193, 50.970, 57.864 & 62.619 mg/g for a
concentration of 20mol% impregnation. Similar test can be
done for 45 °C
Table- 5 Adsorption capacity of samples at 25°C (Sulphur
dioxide)
Comparison of adsorbtion capacity of impregnated
activated carbon at 25° C and flow rate of 50ml/min
Material
s
parti
cle
size
Mas
s of
AC
in
bed
Mas
s of
AC
after
adso
rpt
ion
Ma
ss
of
ads
orb
ate,
S
O2
Mass/
gram
Adsorpti
on
Capacity ,
mg/g
COCUN
UT
SHELL
AC
4x30 10.9
8
27.5
46
16.
566
1.509 15.09
5%K2C
O3 lm
CSAC
4x30 10.3
4
72.3
3
61.
99
5.995 59.95
10%K2
CO3
lmCSAC
4x30 10.5
47
73.1
3
62.
583
5.933 59.33
15%K2
CO3 lm
CSAC
4x30 10.6
9
74.1
2
63.
43
5.934 59.34

20%
K2CO3
lm CSAC
4x30 10.8
1
78.2
2
67.
41
6.236 62.36
5%KOH
CSAC
4x30 11.0
4
101.
020
89.
98
8.151 81.51
10%
KOH
CSAC
4x30 11.2
1
102.
98
91.
77
8.186 81.86
15%KO
H CSAC
4x30 11.4
6
105.
13
93.
67
8.174 81.74
20%KO
H CSAC
4x30 11.7
3
110.
01
98.
28
8.379 83.79
5%NAO
H CSAC
4x30 11.0
0 4
93.0
14
82.
01
7.453 74.53
10%NA
OH
CSAC
4x30 11.0
8 7
95.6
7
84.
583
7.629 76.29
15%
NAOH
CSAC
4x30 11.2
3 3
97.4
5
86.
217
7.675 76.75
20%NA
OH
CSAC
4x30 11.3
2
99.0
1
87.
69
7.746 77.46
be 15.09, 62.36, 77.46 & 83.79 mg/g for a concentration of
20mol% impregnation. Similar datas are computedfor35 °C
and 45°C and found maximum to be absorbed for 25 °C.
Table – 6 Adsorption capacity of samples at 25°C
(Nitrogen oxide).
Comparison of adsorbtion capacity of impregnated
activated carbon at 25° C and flow rate of 50ml/min
Materia
ls
partic
le
size
Mass
of AC
in
bed
Mass
of AC
after
adsorp
tion
Mass
of
adsorb
ate ,
NO
Mas
s/gr
am
Ads
orpti
on
Capa
city ,
mg/
g
COCUN
UT
SHELL
AC
4x30 10.98 24.567 13.587 1.23
7
12.3
7
5%K2C
O3 lm
CSAC
4x30 10.34 70.121 59.781 5.78
2
57.8
2
10%K2
CO3
lmCSAC
4x30 10.54
7
71.01 60.463 5.73
3
57.3
3
15%K2
CO3 lm
CSAC
4x30 10.69 72.12 61.43 5.74
6
57.4
6
20%
K2CO3
lm
CSAC
4x30 10.81 75.14 64.33 5.95
1
59.5
1
5%KOH
CSAC
4x30 11.04 99.043 88.003 7.97
1
79.7
1
10%
KOH
CSAC
4x30 11.21 100.78 89.57 7.99
0
79.9
0
15%KO
H CSAC
4x30 11.46 104.07 92.61 8.08
1
80.8
1
20%KO
H CSAC
4x30 11.73 107.96 96.23 8.20
4
82.0
4
5%NAO
H CSAC
4x30 11.00
4
92.112 81.108 7.37
1
73.7
1
10%NA
OH
CSAC
4x30 11.08
7
95.51 84.423 7.61
5
76.1
5
15%
NAOH
CSAC
4x30 11.23
3
94.56 83.327 7.41
8
74.1
8
20%NA
OH
CSAC
4x30 11.32 97.16 85.84 7.58
3
75.8
3

be 12.37,59.51, 75.83 & 82.04 mg/g for a concentration of
20mol% impregnation. Similar datas are computedfor35 °C
and 45°C and found maximum to be absorbed for 25 °C.
5. CONCLUSION
Air is increasingly getting polluted day by day. It seems that
there is no end to it. Unless controlled at this stage itself our
city will become a place where from nobody escapes. The
capital city of Delhi is only an indication to this. The next city
can be Kochi. A possible solution to this is given to us by the
Creator himself and that is Activated Coconut Carbon was
found to be a very good material for adsorbing common
pollutants present in industrial area.Ithasgainedsignificant
interest due to their low cost, low regeneration energy, and
ecofriendly characteristics. The current study was focused
on the systematic development of CSACusingdifferenttypes
of chemical compounds and adsorption conditions.
The fixed-bed adsorption of CO2, SO2 and NO from CO2,SO2
and NO /N2 mixtures on activated carbon was studied. The
single-component adsorption equilibrium of CO2,SO2 and
NO and N2 were measured at 25 , 35 and 45 .
According to the experimental data results, itwasconfirmed
that the micro pore diffusion is the controlling step for CO2,
SO2 and NO adsorption on the microporous activated
carbon. From the study it is clear that the adsorption
capacity of activated carbon increases with decrease in
temperature and also with increase in concentration of
impregnation.
Overall, the coconut shell derived ACs showed the best
adsorption capacity of79.207mg/g,83.79mg/g,82.04mg/g
(at 20 mol % CO2, SO2 and NO in N2 and at decreasing
temperature of 25°C). KOH activated carbon with higher
surface area and porosity can be considered as the best
option for CO2, SO2 and NO capture atatmospheric pressure
and low temperature of 25°C for CO2, SO2 and NO.
The capacity of activated carbon to adsorb the pollutants is
usually around 10% by weight of the plane carbon. The
reason for selecting this material was due to the fact that
coconut shells are easily available in Kerala and relatively
cheap. However, activated carbon adsorbents are fully
regenerated at 100-150 °C while zeolite usually cannot gain
their initial adsorption capacity. CO2 SO2 and NO uptake
decreases with temperature due to the exothermicnatureof
CO2, SO2 and NO adsorption.
Thus activated carbon filters are the solution to absorb the
smell and other pollutants present in the air. On
impregnating, activated coconut carbon with suitable
chemicals, all the pollutants can be effectively removed.
Thus we suggest,
Making filters of activated carbon impregnated with 20%
KOH for acidic vapours like CO2, SO2 and NO. These filters
can be fixed at the outlet of the factories polluting the
atmosphere and also be used in vehicles at the outlets of
engines and before the carburetor.
REFERENCES
[1] Abechi S.E., et al (2013) “Preparation and
characterization of activated carbon from palm kernel
shell by chemical activation”, Research Journal of
Chemical Science, ISSN 2231-606X Vol. 3(7), 54-61
[2] Brunetti A, Scura F, Barbieri G and Drioli E (2010)
“Membrane technology for CO2 separation” J. of
Membrane Sci. 359 115-125
[3] Caglayan BS, Aksoylu AE. (2013) “CO2 adsorption on
chemically modified activated carbon”. J Hazard
Mater;252e253:19e28
[4] S. Choi, J.H. Drese, C.W. Jones, (2009) Adsorbent
materials for carbon dioxide capture from large
anthropogenic point sources, ChemSusChem2796-854.
[5] Chiang Yu-Chun, Cheng-Yu Yeh and Chih-Hsien Weng,
(2019) . “Carbon Dioxide Adsorption on Porous and
Functionalized Activated Carbon Fibers Appl”.
Sci.10.3390/app9101977
[6] Chung K L, Shin S L, Lain C J, Cheng C W, Kuen S L and
Meng D L (2007) “Application of MCM-41 for dyes
removal from wastewater”J. ofHazardousMaterials147
997–1005
[7] Dantas TLP, Luna FMT, Silva Jr IJ, Torres AEB, de
Azevedo DCS, Rodrigues AE, et al. (2011). “Modeling of
the fixed-bed adsorption of carbon dioxideanda carbon
dioxide nitrogen mixture on zeolite 13x.” Brazilian
Journal of Chemical Engineering.;28(3): 533544. DOI:
10.1590/ S0104-66322011000300018

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