Activated carbon is an attractive adsorbent for capturing various environmental pollutants, including CO2. Herein, an optimal synthesis and impressive performance of activated carbon made from Balanites aegyptiaca (Desert date) seed shells is reported, which is an abundant agricultural waste in the Middle East and Africa. The synthesis route involved pretreating the biomass with KOH and heating it under a suitable temperature profile. An optimal KOH‐to‐biomass ratio and multi‐stage carbonization yielded activated carbon with a surface area above 3000 m2/g and an average pore size of nearly 4.1 nm. At 0 °C, this activated carbon exhibited CO2 uptake of 11.3 mmol·g‐1 that surpassed the uptake capacity of previously reported activated carbons. The selectivity towards CO2 was also found to be significantly higher compared to other gases. Thus, the present approach demonstrates an efficient conversion of agricultural waste to activated carbon for capturing CO2 and other environmental contaminants.

中文翻译：

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通过源自 Balanites aegyptiaca 种子壳的高表面积活性炭捕获二氧化碳

活性炭是一种有吸引力的吸附剂，用于捕获包括二氧化碳在内的各种环境污染物。本文报道了由沙漠椰枣（Balanites aegyptiaca）种子壳制成的活性炭的最佳合成和令人印象深刻的性能，这种种子壳是中东和非洲丰富的农业废物。合成路线包括用 KOH 预处理生物质并在合适的温度条件下加热。最佳的KOH与生物质比和多级碳化产生的活性炭表面积超过3000平方米/克，平均孔径接近4.1纳米。在 0 °C 时，该活性炭的 CO2 吸收量为 11.3 mmol·g-1，超过了之前报道的活性炭的吸收能力。还发现与其他气体相比，对 CO2 的选择性显着更高。因此，本方法证明了农业废物有效转化为活性炭以捕获二氧化碳和其他环境污染物。