Abstract:
The manufacture of carbon electrodes made from palm rind through a combination of chemical
activation using KOH activator has been successfully carried out. Started with a precarbonization
process which was carried out for 1 hour at 200ºC, then the sample was refined and
the sieving process was carried out with a particle size ranging from 39-52 μm. Chemical
activation was carried out using a KOH activator with a concentration of 0,3 M, 0,5 M, 0,7 M
and 0,9 M. Then the carbon powder was formed into pellets using a Hydraulic Press with a
pressure of 8 tons. The carbonization process was carried out at 600ᵒC using N2 gas, then the
physical activation process was carried out at 850ºC using CO2 gas. Characterization to
determine the physical properties of the carbon electrode includes density measurement and Xray
diffraction analysis. KA-09 sample has the highest density value of 0,582 g/cm3. The
microstructure test showed that the structure of the carbon electrode was semicrystalline that
identified by 2 peaks at an angle of 2θ, namely about 22ᵒ and 44ᵒ representing the planes of (002)
and (100).
