Development of materials for environmental pollution control from cocoa pod shells

David Leonce KOUADIO, Adjoavi Colette DJASSOU, Akissi Lydie Chantal KOFFI, Karim Sory TRAORE

To eliminate pollutants efficiently and at a lower cost, research is focused on the use of agricultural waste as a pollution control material. This work involves the analysis of the physical and chemical parameters of raw carbon from cocoa pod shells. The cocoa shells were crushed using Retsch SK100 brand shredders and sieved from Retsch type sieves to retain only particles with diameters between 0.5mm and 1mm. Pyrolysis was carried out at 400°, 450°, 500° and 550°C in a Nabatherm 30-3300°C muffle furnace. Analysis of the results indicates pyrolysis yields of less than 50% and ash rates varying from 15% to 17.2%. The porosity study showed that carbons developed a heterogeneous porosity with maximum iodine and methylene blue index values equal to 659mg/g and 104.56mg/g respectively and a specific area varying from 427.75m²/g to 588.25m²/g. These physical characteristics allowed to determine the best raw carbons. The modeling of the basic and acid dye adsorption kinetics follows the intra-particle diffusion model. The equilibrium time obtained is 60min.

https://dx.doi.org/10.31873/IJEAS.6.10.12