PRODUCTION OF ACTIVATED CARBON FROM OIL PALM EMPTY FRUIT BUNCH AS SUPERCAPACITOR MATERIAL

• Main Author: Gumulya, Christine
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Subjects: Teknik kimia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/45048
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

PRODUCTION OF ACTIVATED CARBON FROM OIL PALM EMPTY FRUIT BUNCH AS The production of palm oil in Indonesia is increasing every year. Along with the increase in production, the waste generated by the palm oil mill also increases. Waste from palm oil production is abundant biomass resources that can be used as raw material for high value-added products. One of the products from the utilization of oil palm biomass waste is activated carbon. Activated carbon is a material that can be used in various applications. Activated carbon is commonly used as adsorbents, catalysts support, and energy storage. The characteristic of activated carbon with high surface area and porosity and good conductivity is suitable as supercapacitor electrode material. Activated carbon production consists of carbonization and activation. The carbonization process can be carried out by hydrothermal carbonization. Hydrothermal carbonization is a process carried out with aqueous media in a pressurized reactor at a lower temperature than the pyrolysis process. This research focused on the production of activated carbon from the empty fruit bunch by hydrothermal carbonization process using KOH, CaCl2, and ZnCl2 as activating agents. Ratio of raw material: activating agent: water is 1:2:3. Hydrothermal carbonization was carried out at 275°C for an hour. Furthermore, hydrochar was activated at a temperature of 800°C in the presence of CO2 for 2 hours. The surface of activated carbon was modified with 1 M and 6 M HNO3. Activated carbon is applied as an electrode of the EDLC type supercapacitor. Activated carbon with CaCl2 as an activating agent (AC-Ca) produces pore sizes in the mesopore range, while the pore size of activated carbon with KOH (AC-KOH) and ZnCl2 (AC-Zn) is in the micropore range. The specific capacitance of supercapacitors for AC-Ca, AC-Zn, and AC-KOH was 28.16 F/g, 14.76 F/g, and 5.57 F/g, respectively. Surface modification of activated carbon with HNO3 increases the hydrophilicity of activated carbon and decreases the surface area and pore size of the activated carbon. This modification also decreases the specific capacitance of supercapacitor cells.