Production of activated carbon from a new precursor: Molasses

Activated carbon has been prepared from molasses, a natural precursor of vegetable origin resulting from the sugar industry in Morocco. The preparation of the activated carbon from the molasses has been carried out by impregnation of the precursor with sulfuric acid, followed by carbonization. The adsorption capacity, the BET surface area, and the pore volume of the activated carbon were determined. The micropore volume was assessed by Dubinin-Radushkevich (DR) equation. The activated materials are mainly microporous and show the type I isotherm of the Brunauer classification for nitrogen adsorption. The activation in steam yielded a carbon that contains both micropores and supermicropores. Analysis of the nitrogen isotherm by BET and DR methods established that most of obtained carbons are highly microporous, with high surface areas (>= 1200 m(2)/g) and very low mesoporosity.