Abstract:
Porous carbon based on red surian (Toona sinensis) leaf biomass waste was chosen as
the basic material for making active carbon. Porous carbon was synthesized using the
chemical activator ZnCl2 as an activating agent, by varying the molarity at 0.3, 0.5
and 0.7 to obtain optimal conditions for activated carbon. Carbon electrode sample
preparation starts from the drying stage, pre-carbonization at 250 °C, grinding with
mortar and ball milling, sieving using a 60 μm sieve, chemical activation of ZnCl2,
printing and integrated pyrolysis in one direct stage, namely carbonization and
physical activation to an optimum temperature of 850 °C in a N2 and CO2 gas
environment. Next, the effects of different concentrations of ZnCl2 activator were
tested, investigated, and the physical properties were compared. The results of the
characterization of the physical properties of the red surian leaf activated carbon
electrode were obtained by calculating the percentage shrinkage of the density value.
The difference in concentration of the ZnCl2 activating agent was able to reduce the
percentage density of carbon coins by 20.43%, 28.28%, and 34.31% for SM-03, SM-
05, and SM-07. Based on these results, the effect of adding the chemical activator
ZnCl2 to the carbon of red surian leaves can increase the evaporation of impurity
elements other than carbon which is indicated by an increase in the shrinkage value.
