Preliminary Study on Structure of Carbon Derived from Palm Oil Shell

Palm shells are waste that is produced every year due to the large demand for palm oil. The potential for carbon derivatives in palm shell charcoal waste that can be extracted is more like activated carbon. Therefore, this research aims to provide an explanation of the ability of palm shell charcoal carbon as a residual component of palm oil processing that is affordable and abundantly available, which if maximized properly will be the forerunner to the development of technology that has added value. The capabilities of Palm Shell Charcoal can be applied for technical applications with further development. It is hoped that this study will provide initial information for scientists and policy makers in the fields of environmental conservation and technology. Palm shell charcoal (ACKS) that has been washed, dried and made into powder is subjected to DSC-TGA, FTIR, XRD, SEM-EDX testing. The XRD results show that there is a main broad peak that appears around the 2θ ∼23° angle which corresponds to the (002) plane and also a narrow peak appears at the 26° angle which indicates graphite growth. Meanwhile, the FTIR results show that many of the bonds formed are C=O, C-O, C=C and O-H bonds which indicate the presence of hard carbon.