Production, characterisation and Application of activated carbon from cocoa pod husk and banana peel using chemical impregnation (sulphuric acid) for soil amendment

Abstract

This research produced and characterized Cocoa Pod Husk and Banana Peel Activated Carbon (CPH and BPAC) and applied them to degraded soils. We utilised Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BJH) methods to determine the surface area and pore volume of the activated carbons. A composite sampling technique was employed to obtain soil samples from agricultural land. The results indicated that the surface areas for impregnated and non-impregnated CPH and BPAC, as determined by BET, were 570 m²/g and 533 m²/g, respectively, while their Dubinin-Radushkevich micropore volumes were 0.201 cc/g and 0.190 cc/g, respectively. Moreover, CPH and BPAC exhibited a higher adsorptive capacity than their non-impregnated counterparts, increasing the NPK levels from 1.48, 7.38, and 0.22 to 2.62, 28.45, and 1.32, respectively. These findings imply that CPH and BPAC increased the NPK levels in the soil by approximately 1.77, 3.86, and 6 times, respectively. The CPH and BPAC as organic fertilizers are effective in amending degraded soils. Future studies should investigate the use of CPH and BPAC in growing leaf vegetables.