Technology Development of Adsorption Cigarette Smoke using Modified Activated Carbon with MgO from Waste Biomass of Durian Shell

Activated carbon is one solution to overcome the problem of cigarette smoke which is very dangerous for health where durian shell waste is chosen as the base material. Durian shell waste was chosen because it contains high cellulose, lignin, and starch, also its production reaching 746,805 thousand tons per year. Durian shell waste that had been activated by chemical activation with K₂CO₃ versus activated carbon is 1:1, 3:2, and 2:1, and by physical activation with N₂ then then was modified with MgO with variations in the concentration of MgO 0.5%, 1%, and 2% at 450^oC for 30 minutes. Activated carbon as a result of activation and modified activated carbon were then characterized by the Iod Number test, BET test, SEM test, and EDX test. The best non modified activated carbon was activated carbon chemical-physical 3:2 with results of 41.56% in yield, 399.44 mg/g in iodine numbers, and 694.13 m²/g in surface area. While the best modified activated carbon was 3: 2 2% with a yield of 97%, an iodine number of 625.70 mg/g, and a surface area of ??1,029.90 m²/g. In the CO gas adsorption application, which is the component with the largest contribution in cigarette smoke, and cigarette smoke itself was tested using modified activated carbon. The results obtained that 2% modified activated carbon proved that it was the best type of activated carbon to degrade CO in 3.89%/gram per minute with adsorption ability was 0.215%. This activated carbon was also able to purify the air from the cigarette in 8.04%/ gram per minute with adsorption ability was 0.87%.

Activated carbon; Adsorption; Cigarette smoke; CO; Durian shell; MgO

Cigarette smoke is a real threat to human life, from children to adults, as more than seven million people die each year due to exposure. The number consists of six million people who are active smokers and 890,000 people who are passive smokers (Yuliusman et al., 2017). Cigarette smoke consists of at least 250 harmful and deadly substances with 69 cancer-causing substances such as acetaldehyde, aromatic amine, arsenic, benzene, beryllium (toxic metal), 1,2-butadiene (dangerous gas), cadmium (toxic metal), polonium-210 (radioactive chemical elements), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), vinyl chloride, and more. Among these substances, the most dangerous and prevalent are pyridine, nicotine, tar, acetaldehyde, and carbon monoxide. These substances can cause chronic bronchitis, emphysema, constriction of blood vessels, pneumonia, and cancer (Yuliusman et al., 2015).In overcoming the problem of cigarette smoke, an adsorber becomes an effective substance to adsorb cigarette smoke. One of the adsorbers that has good adsorption ability is activated carbon. Activated carbon is a solid that results from heating it at high temperatures, which are maintained so that carbon does not experience oxidation and 85-95% pore carbon can be obtained. The source of the active carbon raw material is biomass which has a high percentage of cellulose, lignin, and starch content. One potential biomass waste that can be processed into activated carbon is durian shell because it has a cellulose element of around 50-60%, 5% lignin, and 5% starch (Yuliusman et al., 2018). Durian shell has a percentage of 60-75% of durian fruit (Yuliusman et al., 2017). The amount makes the potential of durian shell waste reach 597,444 thousand to 746,805 thousand tons based on 2015 durian fruit productions of 995.74 thousand tons (Tham et al., 2010).

The activated carbon from durian shell is chemically activated using K₂CO₃ and physically activated using N₂ in the reactor. K₂CO₃ was chosen because it is more environmentally friendly compared to other activators. Other than that, K₂CO₃ is a mineral. With the use of mineral material as an activator, the required activation time is relatively short so that more activated carbon is produced and the adsorption power of an adsorbate will be better. The presence of nitrogen gas flow in a physical activation prevents the presence of oxygen gas around the carbon which has the potential to rot excess carbon and damage the carbon’s structure. It also removes all hydrocarbons and most of it remains as carbon. A carbon structure that is more damaged causes the structure to become more fragile and lighter than carbon from the carbonization process, which is still densely structured or less damaged. Adsorption on activated carbon can be extended back to the active surface with the addition of metal oxides, one of which is MgO. By using metal oxide, activated carbon has an active surface area of ??between 300-3,500 m²/grams with an adsorption capacity of 25-100% for the weight of activated carbon (Hanafi, 2017).

The adsorption testing that was carried out refers to the study of Ibadurrahman (Ismail et al., 2010) who used a beam box measuring 20 cm × 10 cm × 18 cm made of acrylic glass as a representation of the state of space for cigarette smoke adsorption media. The test variables used were activated carbon, TiO₂, and modified TiO₂ activated carbon against pure CO gas pollutants, cigarette smoke, 10% metaldehyde, 37% methanol solution, and acetaldehyde. Based on the simplicity of the tool and the results of his research, pollutants could degrade up to 75-90% in 10 minutes. Looking at its highest potential, the research could be considered as a basis for conducting this study.

The best non-modified activated carbon was the variation of 3:2 which had a yield of 41.56% with an Iod amount of 399.44 mg/g and a surface area of 694.13 m²/g. The best modified activated carbon was activated carbon with a concentration of MgO of 2% which had a yield of 97% with an Iod amount of 625.70 mg/g and a surface area of 1,029.90 m²/g. Activated carbon with a modification of 2% had the ability to degrade the best CO with an adsorption rate of 3.89%/gram per minute with an adsorption power of 0.215%. Modified 2% activated carbon had the ability to purify the air from the best cigarette smoke with an adsorption rate of 8.04%/gram per minute with an adsorption power of 0.87%.

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