Obtención de carbón activado a partir de la cáscara del fruto del jícaro sabanero (Crescentia alata).

Abstract

Activated charcoal is a multipurpose sorbent commonly used in remediation of contaminated water. The members of the Association of Peasants and Artisans from Villanueva, Chinandega in Nicaragua produce charcoal in an artisanal way from shells of calabash tree fruit (jícaro sabanero, Crescentia alata) to improve the quality of drinking water and to get income by its commercialization. The aims of this work were to determine the quality of the artisanal charcoal and to produce activated charcoal at the laboratory scale from shells of C. alata fruits with a quality comparable to a laboratory grade charcoal. This was achieved through laboratory assays, which included: a) cleaning up, drying and size reduction of raw shells, b) carbonization and chemical activation of shells and c) size reduction of the obtained charcoal. These assays were also useful to detect limitations of the artisanal process. The pre- carbonization at 400 oC and the chemical activation with aqueous solutions of phosphoric acid followed by immediate carbonization at 600 oC was the most successful assay to obtain activated charcoal. This carbon had a higher adsorption capacity for methylene blue than that of the laboratory grade charcoal and yielded 40%. The adoption of the carbonization and activation conditions assayed will allow the associates in Villanueva to produce an activated charcoal with laboratory grade quality and consequently benefit from the high availability and low costs of the jícaro shells.