MICROPOROUS CARBONS FROM MORINGA-OLEIFERA HUSKS FOR WATER-PURIFICATION IN LESS-DEVELOPED-COUNTRIES

High quality activated carbon can be prepared from the waste husks of Moringa oleifera, an indigenous tropical plant material. Steam activated husks exhibited a well-developed micropore volume of 0.57 cm(3) g(-1) and a corresponding apparent surface area of 734 m(2) g(-1), as determined by BET N-2 adsorption hysteresis. In an assessment of aqueous phase adsorptive performance, activated Moringa carbon was found to be comparable to commercial powdered activated water treatment carbons (PACs) and exhibited a Langmuir monolayer coverage constant (Q(0)) of 1.89 mmol g(-1) for phenol adsorption from the aqueous phase. Cultivation of Moringa oleifera in developing countries for the coagulant properties of its seed extract provides a well founded economic incentive for the utilisation of treated waste husks as activated carbon during in situ water purification.