Characterization of activated carbon from automotive paint sludge via microwave assisted pyrolysis

Industrial wastes such as automotive paint sludge has been an environmental problem for quite some time. With methods such as microwave assisted pyrolysis, it is possible to reduce the waste to be put to better use. Due to the high moisture content of the sludge, pyrolysis with the aid of microwave radiation is an added advantage, as it will act as the heating medium. From this process, the automotive paint sludge is reduced to a solid char, liquid oil and gas. This research focuses on the solid form with prior chemical activation. Being a carbonaceous material, one of the main objective was to determine whether it can be applied in supercapactior usage by characterizing the end product apart from determining the effects of radiation time and power level on the activated carbon produced from the automotive paint sludge. The chemical used for both chemical activation and washing were potassium hydroxide and sulphuric acid respectively. Radiation time and microwave power level were the parameters being applied in this research ranging from 300 W to 1000 W at 20 min to 40 min. The sample at 1000 W and 40 min had the highest potential being able to shed off most of the impurities within the sample leaving behind a 56.5 % yield with a surface area 1.6489 m2 /g. However, it was concluded that through this method, the samples produced very low surface areas and is not suitable in producing activated carbon to be used in the application of supercapacitors. This is because the minimum requirements for the surface area of the activated carbon should be at least 500 m2 /g to be able to function properly.