Preparation and characterization of activated charcoal from the pineapple crown

Currently, the search for materials that can use waste from various sources, which are accumulated in the environment, have grown due to the demand for lower costs of obtaining products of high commercial value. In this context, the preparation of activated carbon from residues (banana peel and pineapple crown) was studied in order to use them as methylene blue adsorbents. To obtain the charcoal, the fibers from the residues were chemically activated with NaOH and then pyrolyzed at 400 ° C for 3 h. The materials were characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The tests were conducted with concentration variation (10mg / L, 25mg / L, 50mg / L, 100mg / L, 250mg / L and 500mg / L). Adsorption tests indicated dye removal efficiency of 98% with pineapple crown and 99.9% with banana peel. (author)