Abstract: Activated carbon was prepared from tung-nut-shell by activation with zinc chloride at pyrolysis temperature of 400℃ for 1 h under nitrogen flow of 200 mL/min. The N₂ adsorption-desorption isotherms of the prepared activated carbons were measured on a Beckman counter SA3100 surface area and pore size analysers, and the morphological structures of the activated carbons were observed by SEM. The prepared activated carbons were also employed as adsorbents for the experiment of adsorbing methylene blue and phenol in aqueous solutions. The results showed that the resultant activated carbons could be obtained from the tung-nut-shell with high BET surface area of 1 995 m²/g and high total pore volume of 1.521 mL/g, respectively. Increasing the mass ratio of ZnCl₂ to tung-nut-shell resulted in the increment of the capacities for phenol and methylene blue adsorption. Compared to commercial activated carbon of F 400, the prepared activated carbon CT 3.0 exhibits higher capability for phenol and methylene blue adsorption. Therefore, it is expected to be a low-cost and efficient adsorption material for effluent treatment.

Key words: tung-nut-shell, activated carbon, adsorption capacity