Unburned carbon from bagasse fly ash as a support for a VOC oxidation catalyst

Unburned carbon in bagasse fly ash has been separated and activated under different conditions for use as a support for loading iron catalysts. These were tested for the total oxidation of n-butanol. The sequence of Fe loading affected the textural properties and the composition of the activated carbon. The sample loaded with Fe after activation had higher surface area and carbon content compared to sample activated after Fe loading. The sample with Fe loaded on separated carbon without activation had low surface area, low carbon content and poor activity in n-butanol oxidation. The Fe loaded activated carbon samples derived from bagasse fly ash had high surface area and their catalytic activities were comparable to that of commercial carbon. In comparison with the steam activated samples, the Fe loaded phosphoric acid activated carbon showed a higher thermal stability during the catalytic test due to the presence of Csingle bondOsingle bondP linkage.