Carbon or charcoal has various applications. It is amorphous in nature and has a high surface area. It is prepared by pyrolysis of carbonaceous material like wood and coconut shell.
Preparation of carbon ( from coconut shell) and determination of surface area using volumetric method
1. SHREE MALLIKARJUN COLLEGE CLASS:SYBSC
SAFETY: Refer to MSDS of coal and charcoal
-Dr. Mithil S. FalDesai
Aim: Preparation of Carbon (from Coconut shell) and determination of surface area using
volumetric method.
Chemicals: Coal or charcoal.
Apparatus/Instrument: Glass crucible, desiccator and electric oven.
Theory: Carbon or charcoal has various applications. It is amorphous in nature and has high
surface area. It is prepared by pyrolysis of carbonaceous material like wood and coconut shell.
The surface area of carbon prepared depends on the nature of precursor and the preparation
method. Determination of surface area of carbon can be done by plotting BET (Brunauer,
Emmett and Teller) isotherms. volumetric methods can also be used to roughly determine the
surface area.
Procedure: A) Preparation of carbon from coconut shell.
1) Take 2 g dry in a crucible.
2) Close the mouth of crucible by a loose lid.
3) Heat the crucible on the flame or in a muffle furnace.
4) Crush the carbon (charcoal) with a mortar and pestle.
4) Weigh the residual carbon(charcoal) and calculate the percentage yield
B) Determination of moisture
1) Weigh 250 mg of carbon black
2) Heat the crucible again for 20 min at 110 ◦C and note down the weight.
3) Repeat step 2 if the difference in weight after successive heating is more than 5 mg.
Observation
Table 1.
Weight of
the empty
crucible
Weight of
crucible +
charcoa1
Weight after
1st heating
Weight after
2nd heating
Weight after
3rd heating
Weight after
4th
Difference between successive heating
Results: i) Moisture content in the charcoal = _____%.
Further reading (available in the library)
1) Experiments in Applied Chemistry, S. Rattan, S. K Kataria, and Sons.
Questions.
1) What are the uses of activated charcoal?
2) How natural coal is formed?
3) Coal is a non-renewable natural resource. Comment!
4) What is the difference between coal and charcoal?
