Characteristics Evaluation of Three Balinese Bamboos as Precursor of Activated Carbon

Activated carbon is known as an amorphous compound that can be manufactured from carbon-containing raw materials. It has a high adsorption capacity and is widely used in a variety of fields due to its high surface area and nano-sized pore structure. The rising demand has prompted a search for low-cost, large-quantity raw materials to replace non-renewable raw materials such as coal and petroleum residues, both of which are becoming scarce. The purpose of this research is to assess three types of Balinese bamboo as raw materials for activated carbon: petung, santong, and tali bamboos. Samples were prepared by dehydrating them under the sun for 5 days, cutting them into small pieces (±1 × 1 × 1 cm), and then heating them in an electric furnace at 105 ℃ for 1 h. Samples were then observed their microstructure using an optical microscope. To determine the chemical composition, moisture, ash, volatile, and fixed carbon content of the raw materials, the sample was ground into powder and characterized using the Van Soest analysis, and termogravimetric analysis (TGA test). The results showed that tali bamboo has the highest potential to produce high-quality activated carbon due to its higher cellulose (37.97%) and lignin (32.27%) content than petung and santong bamboos; despite having the highest moisture content (11.23%), tali bamboo has a fairly high volatile (70.72%), the lowest ash content (1.41%), and the highest fixed carbon (16.64%). The microstructure shows that vascular bundles close to the epidermis are denser and smaller in size than those further away.