CARBONLETT, vol. 22, no. 1, pp.81-88, 2017

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5714/CL.

Extraction and characterization of lignin from black liquor and preparation of biomass-based activated carbon therefrom

Daeyeon Kim¹, Jinsil Cheon¹, Jeonghoon Kim¹, Daekyun Hwang¹, Ikpyo Hong², Oh Hyeong Kwon¹, Won Ho Park³ and Donghwan Cho^1,♠

Affiliation: ¹Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Kumoh National Institute of Technology, Gumi 39177, Korea
²Carbon Materials Research Group, New Materials and Component Research Center, Research Institute of Industrial Science and Technology, Pohang 37673, Korea
³Department of Organic Materials Engineering, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Korea

Abstract: In the present study, biomass-based lignin was extracted from industrial waste black liquor and the extracted lignin was characterized by means of attenuated total reflectance- Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The extracted lignin was carbonized at different temperatures and then activated with steam at 850^oC. The extracted lignin in powder state was transformed into a bulky carbonized lignin due to possible fusion between the lignin particles occurring upon carbonization. The carbonized and then pulverized lignin exhibits brittle surfaces, the increased thermal stability, and the carbon assay with increasing the carbonization temperature. The scanning electron microscopic images and the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller result indicate that the steam-activated carbon has the specific surface area of 1718 m²/g, which is markedly greater than the carbonized lignin. This study reveals that biomassbased activated carbon with highly porous structure can be produced from costless black liquor via steam-activation process.

Keyword: black liquor, lignin, activated carbon, steam-activation, specific surface area