Abstract: Activated carbon was prepared from tobacco stem by steam activation. The results show that activation temperature and S/C ratio are important to the porosity development of the activated carbon. Activated carbon with BET surface area of 522-590 m²/g and iodine adsorption capacity of 840-912 mg/g has been produced under activation temperature 750-800℃ and S/C ratio between 1.5-2.0:1.0. The study confirms that tobacco stems are highly reactive to steam activation, and therefore can be used to produce activated carbon through a single stage activation process in a fluid bed. Mineral matters in tobacco stems were found to be catalytic to steam activation of the precursor, upon which a process of deashing with diluted HCl solution followed by activation to produce activated carbon with relatively lower mineral content has been put forward.

Key words: tobacco stem, steam activation, ash removal by HCl, activated carbon