Abstract

Abstract Carbon adsorbent materials that were prepared from sunflower straw by a combination of pre-treatment and low-temperature pyrolysis showed better adsorption compared with untreated carbon. Four different pre-treatment agents (steam, alkali (KOH), phosphoric (H3PO4), and salt (ZnCl2)) were analyzed with respect to their effects on the maximum surface area and the micropore area. Samples were measured by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron ...