POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE BASED ACTIVATED CARBON PRODUCTION: PRELIMINARY STUDY ON KOH ACTIVATION WITH MICROWAVE ASSIST

Abstract

Since the beginning of the plastic age, drinking-bottle waste has been increasing worldwide.
Petroleum plastic waste is composed mainly of Polyethyleneterephthalate (PET), which is remained in the
environment for a long period, thereby causing significant harm to humans, flora, and fauna. Waste recycling
is one of the promising mitigation strategies, being used to reduce the amount of final disposal. This research,
a preliminary investigation of activated carbon production conditions from PET bottle waste, was carried out
using Fractional Factorial Design (FFD) with 95% confidence level. Starter material PET waste was obtained
from a local recycling factory. Crusted and sieved PET was carbonized at 700oC for 1 hr. (called PET-char),
then impregnated with potassium hydroxide (KOH) at a designed ratio and heated in a microwave. The
production factors included PET-char:KOH ratio (1 and 3 by weight), microwave power (540 and 900 watts),
and microwave heating time (10 and 30 mins). It was found that all production factors were significant
contributors to the characteristics of PET-based activated carbon (PET-AC). The highest iodine adsorption
capacity was found at the condition of 3 by weight, 900 Watts, and 30 mins for ratio, microwave power, and
heating time, respectively. PET-AC shown highest iodine adsorption capacity with 1,125.34 mg/g and
Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET) surface area with 1,345 m2
/g. It was confirmed that PET bottle-based waste
can be converted to a highly valuable nanoporous adsorbent.