Activated Carbon by Potassium Carbonate Activation from Pine Sawdust (Pinus montezumae Lamb.)

Activated carbon (AC) was gained from Pinus montezumae (PM) wood sawdust and chemical activation with K₂CO₃ was used for obtaining activated carbons. Variations in reaction conditions such as temperature, impregnation ratio (IR), and activation time were carried out to study their influence on the specific surface area (SSA) and average pore volume (APV) in AC. Materials were analyzed by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) to determine the functional groups, pore structure, and morphology of pine sawdust and activated carbons. Activated carbons were amorphous in nature with some crystalline regions.