Abstract:
The application of oil palm kernel shell (PKS) as an activated carbon is lately known an alternative and cheap
energy. Unfortunately, it needs to activate the surface areas in order to increase the adsorption process. For this, the addition
of chemical activator i.e., phosphoric acid is a must. This work aims to determine the properties of palm oil shell activated
charcoal and its application for clarification of crude palm oil. The palm shell charcoal was calcined at 500 °C for 1-5 hours.
Then, it was grounded become powder and sieved at 200 mesh. The palm shell charcoal was then activated by adding H3PO4
10% wt with ratio 1:4. The obtained palm shell activated charcoal was then characterized by FTIR, XRD, BET and SEM. The
charcoal was then applied for clarified of crude palm oil and rotated at 400 rpm for an hour. The structure of palm shell
activated charcoal found mesoporous structure with pore size 1.69 Å and surface area 116.587 m2.g-1. The obtained activated
charcoal was dominantly hemicellulose and lignin with monoclinic rectangular structures. It was found the optimum
concentration of PKS activated carbon for clarification of CPO was 5 wt% calcined at 80 °C.
Keywords: Palm kernel shell (PKS), Activated charcoal, Surface areas, Crude palm oil (CPO) clarification
