Preparation and Characterization of Activated Carbon from Palm Kernel Shell at Low Temperature as an Adsorbent for Methylene Blue

The preparation of activated carbon as an adsorbent from biomass waste was usually conducted at high temperatures. In this research, activated carbon was prepared from palm kernel shell by the pyrolysis process at temperature under 400 °C to reduce excessive energy consumption. This study aims to identify the surface character of the formed activated carbon as an adsorbent for methylene blue. The pyrolysis process produced activated carbon which has a hydroxyl (3102–3423 cm−1) and carboxyl (1650 cm−1) functional groups, resulting in ionic interactions between activated carbon and methylene blue. The equilibrium data fit the Langmuir isotherm model with correlation efficient higher than 0,99. The highest adsorption capacity is 0.28 mmol/g adsorbent for activated carbon which is hydrolyzed at 350 °C with a surface area of 523 m2/g adsorbents.