Sugarcane bagasse has been used as a substrate for the development of microporous nano-activated carbons for the treatment and elimination of dissolved materials from aquatic environment. The activated carbon was produced using chemical activation in one-step method with zinc chloride ( ZnCl2) as the activating agent at a carbonization temperatures range from 500 to 900 °C. The effects of temperature and time of carbonization on the activated carbon product properties were thoroughly studied. The activated carbons that resulted were characterized using the N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller method (BET), pore property analysis, micropore (MP) surface area, t-plot surface area, TGA, FTIR, SEM, TEM, and EDX analyses. The prepared activated carbon’s point of zero charge, Boehm titration process, iodine removal percentage, and methylene blue number were also investigated. The prepared activated carbon’s maximum surface area was achieved using a 2/1 impregnation ratio (dried sugarcane bagasse/ZnCl2) at 600 °C temperature of carbonization and 60 min residence time. 1402.2 m2/ g, 0.6214 and 1.41 cm3/ g, respectively, were the largest surface area, total pore volume, and micropore volume. As the activation temperature increased, the total pore volume increased and the BET study measured a pore diameter of 0.7 nm and a mean pore diameter of 1.77 nm.

    Abstract
    1 Introduction
    2 Materials and methods
        2.1 Materials and reagents
        2.2 Preparation of the activated carbons
        2.3 Sample characterization
    3 Results and discussion
        3.1 Sugarcane bagasse and SBAC proximate studies
        3.2 Temperature effects on activated carbon yields at various holding times
        3.3 Thermal analysis
        3.4 Surface areas and pore size distribution of SBAC that have been prepared
        3.5 FTIR analysis
        3.6 Morphology analysis (SEM and TEM analysis)
        3.7 Energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis
        3.8 Particle size analysis (PSA)
        3.9 Point of zero charge pHPZC
        3.10 Iodine removal percentage (IRP) and methylene blue number (MBN)
        3.11 Determination of acidic and basic groups (Boehm’s titration)
        3.12 Comparison with different activated carbons obtained from different biomasses
    4 Conclusion
    References

• Ahmed El Nemr(Environment Division, National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries)
• Rawan M. Aboughaly(Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University)
• Amany El Sikaily(Environment Division, National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries)
• Mamdouh S. Masoud(Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University)
• Mohamed S. Ramadan(Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University)
• Safaa Ragab(Environment Division, National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries)