Thesis (M.Sc.)--Chulalongkorn University, 2009

This research investigated the production of activated carbon from Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehn bark by physical activation. The experiment was composed of two steps: the first step was the carbonization and the second was the activation. For the carbonization, the optimal condition was found to be 500℃ and 45 minutes. The optimal activation condition with steam as activating agent was at 900℃ for 120 minutes using N[subscript 2] gas as a carrier at the flow rate of 200 cubic cm min[superscript -1] where the properties of the prepared activated carbon were: bulk density 0.37 g cm[superscript -3], ash content 37.3%, yield 52.5%, iodine number 694 mg g[superscript -1] and BET surface area 794 sq.m. g-[superscript -1]. At the same activation condition, change activating agent to carbon dioxide instead, the properties of the prepared activated carbon were: bulk density 0.39 g cm[superscript -3], ash content 30.9%, yield 58.5%, iodine number 352 mg g[superscript -1] and BET surface area 274 m[superscript 2] g[superscript -1 ]. The activated carbon product from steam activation process was tested for its adsorption capacities for Pb(II). Experiments demonstrated that Pb(II) was best adsorbed at pH 4 where the adsorption reached equilibrium within 30 minutes for the whole range of initial heavy metal concentrations investigated here (10-50 mg L[superscript -1]). The adsorption isotherm followed Langmuir better than Freundlich models where the maximum sorption capacity was 54.6 mg g[superscript -1].