Activated carbons from co-carbonization of waste truck tires and spent tea leaves

Abstract This study reports the co-carbonization of waste truck tires (WTT) and spent tea leaves (STL) at different blend ratios using chemical activating reagents (KOH and ZnCl2) carried out at 800 °C. The highest BET surface area from blends was 527.24 m2/g, obtained using ZnCl2 activation at a blend ratio of 1:3 (WTT/STL). Activated carbons yields in the blends were the highest at a blend ratio of 3:1 (WTT/STL) for both chemical activations. They were 24.37 wt% for KOH activation and 41.59 wt% for ZnCl2 activation. ZnCl2 activation produced higher carbon and lower oxygen content than those using KOH activation. Regardless of the type of feed, the oxygen removal efficiency of ZnCl2 was higher than that of KOH under identical conditions. Among all the activated carbons produced, the BET surface area of the activated carbons obtained from the carbonization of STL alone was highest for both activations. The BET surface area of the activated carbons produced in this study was comparable to that of activated carbons produced commercially.