Characteristic studies of some activated carbons from agricultural wastes

Agricultural wastes like tobacco stem, bulrush Scirpus acutus stem, Leucaena leucocephala shell, Ceiba pentandra shell, Pongamia pinnata shell have been explored for the preparation of activated carbon. Characterization studies such as bulk density, moisture, ash, fixed carbon, matter soluble in water, matter soluble in acid, pH, decolourising power, phenol number, ion exchange capacity, iron content and surface area have been carried out to assess the suitability of these carbons as absorbents in water and wastewater. The results obtained show them to be good adsorbents for both organics and inorganics. Present study reveals the recovery of valuable adsorbents from readily and cheaply available agriculture wastes.