Surface modification of low cost carbons for their application in the environmental protection

In this work, the CO2 capture capacity of a series of activated carbons derived from recycled polyethylene terephtalate (PET) was tested, facing two problems at the same time: minimising plastic waste and developing an adsorbent for CO2 capture. The PET raw material, obtained from post-consumer soft-drink bottles, was chemically activated with KOH. In addition, a series of nitrogen-enriched activated carbons was obtained by mixing the raw material with different nitrogen compounds (i.e., acridine, carbazole and urea). The influence of temperature on the CO2 capture capacity of the adsorbents was evaluated in a thermogravimetric system. The CO2 uptake was also related to the chemical and textural characteristics of the samples.