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.

Mercury has been identified as a potential health and environmental hazardous material. Activated carbon adsorption offers promising potential for the control of mercury emissions, and sulfur impregnated (sulfurized) activated carbons has been shown to be an effective sorbent for the removal of vapor phase Hg˚ from sources. In this work, vapor phase mercury adsorption by sulfur impregnated activated carbons were investigated. Sulfur impregnated activated carbons were made by variation of impregnation temperature, and the comparison of adsorption characteristics with commercial virgin and sulfurized carbons were made. Factors affecting the adsorption capacity of virgin and sulfurized activated carbons such as pore characteristics, functional groups and sulfur impregnation conditions were discussed. It was found that the sulfur allotropes plays a critical role in adsorption of mercury vapor by sulfurized activated carbons.