Structural property, surface area and electrical conductivity activated carbon from biomass materials and various manufacturer in Malaysia

Abstract

The activated carbon from biomass sources has been widely used for industrial application because it has a superior electrical conductivity and high absorption properties. This paper presents the electrical conductivity property and the relation between structural parameters from X-ray diffraction technique and BET surface area of various activated carbon materials. There are six activated carbon powders were collected from difference local manufacturers. These samples were characterized by electrical conductivity measurement, N2-gas adsorption analysis and structural property from X-ray diffraction analysis. Measurement on powder activated carbon shows that the highest electrical conductivity value is SC sample with the value of 3.484 (Ωcm)-1 from coconut shell. The SC sample also has the lowest value of thickness of graphitic microcrystallites, Lc. This study demonstrates that activated carbon from coconut shell has the highest electrical conductivity value compared to oil palm shell activated carbon.