IARJSET ISSN (O) 2393-8021, ISSN (P) 2394-1588

International Advanced Research Journal in Science, Engineering and Technology

Impact Factor 7.105Vol. 9, Issue 4, April 2022
DOI: 10.17148/IARJSET.2022.9440

Production of Activated Carbon from Coconut

Shells
Vanshika Poray1, Sharvari Raut2, Sudiksha Hegde3 and Dr. S. J. Purohit4
Thadomal Shahani Engineering College, Mumbai – India1-4

Abstract: Apart from being natural and eco-friendly, we plan to manufacture activated carbon from coconut shells –
energy saving process. Activated carbon is a form of carbon having low pore volume and good surface area imparting it
great adsorptive properties. Its applications are abundant and hence the demand is high. The conventional method of
producing activated carbon is Pyrolysis of coconut shells and the Activation of char. In our method of preparation, we
plan on using a fluidized bed reactor due to its superlative mass and heat transfer properties compared to the other
conventional reactors. In our paper we aim to give details about activated carbon from coconut shells and simulate
some equipments with DWSIM. We plan to focus on the process’ process flow diagram, equipment design, cost
estimation, and applications of all the products and by-products. This method of manufacture promises high returns
while being environmentally cautious.

Keywords: Activated Carbon, Pyrolysis, Activation

1. INTRODUCTION

Activated carbon (or Activated charcoal) is a crude form of graphite where the difference between the two is that the
activated carbon has a random and defective structure which is extremely porous over a broad range of pore sizes from
visible cracks and crevices to molecular dimensions. The graphite structure provides the abundant surface area to the
activated carbon which allows the carbon to adsorb a wide range of compounds. Activated carbon is known to have the
strongest physical adsorption forces, or the greatest volume of adsorbing porosity. Activated carbon can have a surface
of greater than 1000m²/g. This implies that 3 grams of activated charcoal can have the surface area of a football field.
Activated charcoal is a powerful adsorbent used to purify a broad spectrum of pollutants in air, water and soil. It has
odourless, tasteless and non-toxic characteristics and can be prepared from any carbonaceous material using physical or
chemical activation methods. Typically, activated carbon is made from coal. But given the non-renewable nature of this
material, manufacturers are looking for other resources of carbon, such as carbonaceous agricultural by-products, to
prepare activated carbon. It can be made from many substances containing a high carbon content such as coal, coconut
shells and wood. The raw material has a very large influence on the characteristics and performance of the activated
carbon.
Activated carbon has around 100 different types, but the 3 main types that are most commonly seen are the following:
• Powdered activated carbon
• Granular activated carbon
• Activated carbon rods

2. MARKET RESEARCH

Recently, Markets and Markets, a renowned market research firm, announced the publication of a comprehensive
global report on the Activated Carbon market. The global activated carbon market is estimated to be USD 5.7 billion in
2021 and is projected to reach USD 8.9 billion by 2026, at a compound annual growth rate of 9.3% from 2021 to 2026,
fueled mostly by the predicted surge in demand for activated carbon in the United States. The activated carbon market
is dominated by a few globally established players, such as Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. (Japan), Cabot Corporation (US),
Kuraray Co. Ltd. (Japan), Haycarb Plc (Sri Lanka), and Kureha Corporation (Japan) among others.
Activated carbon is in significant demand in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and South Korea,
where it is mostly used to purify gold, water, and air. Activated carbon imports are predicted to surpass US$ 3 billion
by 2022, owing to its effectiveness as a purifier. The focus will gradually shift to developing markets in the future,
driven by China and India in Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Activated carbon is widely employed in the
refining and bleaching of vegetable oils and chemical solutions, as well as in water purification, solvent and other
vapour recovery, gold recovery, and gas masks. for hazardous gas protection, in filters to provide suitable protection
against war gases/nuclear fallouts, and so on. India’s activated carbon export was 16.2 in 2011 and rose to 20.2 million
US$ in 2018.

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 IARJSET ISSN (O) 2393-8021, ISSN (P) 2394-1588

International Advanced Research Journal in Science, Engineering and Technology

Impact Factor 7.105Vol. 9, Issue 4, April 2022
DOI: 10.17148/IARJSET.2022.9440

3. PROCESS SELECTION PARAMETERS

Activated carbon has high demand predominantly due to its high adsorptive properties which aid to purify water and
air. It is used to absorb several unwanted components. The adsorptive property of activated carbon is mainly due to its
pore size and volume; hence this factor plays a vital role. Activated carbon can be manufactured using various raw
materials like bituminous coal, wood or coconut shells. The type of raw material used to produce activated carbon has a
major impact upon its pore size characteristics.
There are chiefly three types of pore sizes:
i. micropores- pore size of less than 2 nanometre
ii. mesopore- pore size between 2 to 50 nm
iii. macropore- pore size more than 50 nm

Activated carbon produced from bituminous coal has few micropores and mainly mesopores and macropores, thus
reducing its ability to strain out smaller particles. Activated carbon produced from wood also mainly has mesopores
and macropores. Though it has better adsorptive index compared to coal-based activated carbon, it is still restricted for
its usage in adsorbing larger particulates. It is less ideal for higher-grade filtration. Activated carbon produced from
coconut shells has a high density of micropores and fewer mesopores and macropores, therefore it is more efficient to
filter out finer contaminants. These also have a tight structure and minimal ash content.
Moreover, coconut shells are green raw materials, which are easily and abundantly available as waste products from
other industries. Their disposal is costly and may cause environmental problems, hence they are excellent raw
materials. Wood is a renewable commodity, but not easily available (since one tree takes years to grow). Coal is the
most unfavorable out of the three, as it is a non-renewable source and is very expensive. Hence, we choose coconut
shell-based production of activated carbon as it has the best adsorptive index and is a very cheap raw material.

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International Advanced Research Journal in Science, Engineering and Technology

Impact Factor 7.105Vol. 9, Issue 4, April 2022
DOI: 10.17148/IARJSET.2022.9440
Process Flow Chart

4. PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM

Pyrolysis

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International Advanced Research Journal in Science, Engineering and Technology

Impact Factor 7.105Vol. 9, Issue 4, April 2022
DOI: 10.17148/IARJSET.2022.9440
Activation

5. PROCESS DESCRIPTION

There are two main processes involved namely carbonization and chemical activation. Carbonization is the process of
converting biomass into char using pyrolysis and chemical activation is conversion of char into activated carbon with
more pores. Our main raw material for the process is coconut shells. In the first step coconut shells are degraded, i.e,
de-polymerization after which the monomers rearrange forming biochar.
The process of pyrolysis of coconut shells consists of two operations occurring simultaneously.
In the pyrolysis stage, the coconut shells are initially brought in through a conveyor belt and passed on to the jaw
crusher to reduce the size of the shells to about 100- 50mm shards. Then another conveyor belt transports these bits to a
heating furnace and heating is done at 600°C increasing the temperature gradually.
It is then kept in the furnace for two hours for pyrolysis at a constant temperature of 600°C.
In the second section, a physical activation process converts the char to activated carbon. When the pyrolysis reaction is
completed, the char is transferred to a crusher to reduce its size. The reduced char is then transported to the fluidized
bed reactor which is the main activation stage of the plant. The coconut char is heated to 900°C. The char then reacts
with steam to produce activated carbon. At this point, the coconut char consists entirely of elemental carbon, and some
of the carbon reacts with water to produce carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas. The gas escapes from the solid char,
leaving behind pores in the carbon solid. The endothermic carbon-steam reaction takes place in the reactor.

6. EQUIPMENT DESIGN

Heat Exchangers E-101 and E-202 were simulated on DWSIM to find their area as well as other factors such as
equipment design data and heat load. Both the heat exchangers are shell and tube type heat exchangers
E- 101
E- 202

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International Advanced Research Journal in Science, Engineering and Technology

Impact Factor 7.105Vol. 9, Issue 4, April 2022
DOI: 10.17148/IARJSET.2022.9440

Fired Heater
The fired heater is utilized in the pyrolysis process to burn the coconut shells at 600 C and char them to obtain our
inactivated carbon char. It is made out of stainless steel to account for the corrosive nature of the gases. The fired heater
is horizontal cyclindrical in shape and has a big rotating mixer inside it to ensure that all the coconut shards recieve
uniform heat to pyrolyze and form char.

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International Advanced Research Journal in Science, Engineering and Technology

Impact Factor 7.105Vol. 9, Issue 4, April 2022
DOI: 10.17148/IARJSET.2022.9440

The following data is obtained and assumed to calculate the dimensions of the equipment. To find length of fired heater
according to volume of coconut shells processed:
V = 9.54375 m3, r = 0.6 m h = ?
Using volume of cylinder: V= pi*r^2*h h = 8.443 m ≈ 8.5 m

7. COST ESTIMATION

Equipment Cost
Equipment costs are calculated with reference to theory from Seider. Below values are obtained from literature. Refer
PFD for equipment codes.

Sr. No. Code Description Seider ($) Conversion to Rs

1 B – 101 Crusher Conveyor Belt 13413 41312.04
2 K – 101 Crusher 11723 36106.84
3 B -102 Furnace Screw Conveyor 1341 4130.28
4 H – 101 Furnace 4520058 13921778.64
5 B – 103 Char Screw Conveyor 13778 42436.24
6 E – 101 Bio-Oil Cooler 176882 544796.56
7 V – 101 Carbon Vessel 523128 1611234.24
8 E – 102 Bio-Oil Condenser 122446 377133.68
9 K – 102 Ball Mill 2815 8670.2
10 V – 102 Bio-Oil Storage Vessel 995377 3065761.16
11 C – 102 Volatiles Blower 1985435 6115139.8
12 S – 101 Gravity Separator 7531 23195.48

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International Advanced Research Journal in Science, Engineering and Technology

Impact Factor 7.105Vol. 9, Issue 4, April 2022
DOI: 10.17148/IARJSET.2022.9440
P-201, P-
13 Water Pump 20989 64646.12
202, P-203
14 B – 201 FBR Conveyor Belt 13778 42436.24
15 H – 201 FBR Boiler 114194 351717.52
16 H – 202 FBR Cooling Jacket 941903 2901061.24
17 R – 201 Fluidized Bed Reactor (FBR) 2552341 7861210.28
18 E – 201 Boiler 233785 720057.8
19 E – 202 Cooler 45434 139936.72
20 E – 203 Water Condenser 56872 175165.76
21 B – 202 AC Conveyor Belt 8612 26524.96
22 S – 201 Gravity Separator 402631 1240103.48

Total = Rs. 3.93 crores

Cost & Investment

Direct Plant Cost
% of purchased
Component Cost (Rs.)
equipment
Purchased equipment E 39314555.28
Purchased equipment instalation 40% 15725822.11
Instrumentation and control 50% 19657277.64
Piping 30% 11794366.58
Electrical system 10% 3931455.528
Land 6% 2358873.317
Yard improvement 10% 3931455.528
Total= Rs. 9.67 crores

Indirect Plant Cost

% of purchased
Component Cost (Rs.)
equipment
Engineering Supervision 10% 69693984.36
Construction Expenses 10% 69693984.36
Total = Rs. 13.93 crores

Total Direct and Indirect Cost(D+I) = 96713805.9 + 139387968.7

= Rs 10.45 crores
Contractor’s fee 5%(D+I) 5228835.852
Contingency 10%(D+I) 10457671.7
Total= Rs. 1.56 crores

Fixed Capital Investment

FCI = Total direct plant cost + Total indirect plant cost
= 15686507.56 + 104576717
= Rs 12.02 crores

Working Capital Investment

WCI = 0.15 × FCI

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International Advanced Research Journal in Science, Engineering and Technology

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DOI: 10.17148/IARJSET.2022.9440
= 0.15 × 120263224.6
= Rs. 1.80 crores

Total Capital Investment

TCI = FCI +WCI
=120263224.6 + 18039483.69
= Rs. 13.83 crores

Total Production Cost

Direct Production Cost
QUANTITY
MATERIAL RATE (Rs.) Cost (Rs.)
(ton)
cocunut Shells 13742871 6 8.24 crores

Manufacturing Cost
Operating Labour Cost
Salary per
Position No. of total salary (Rs.)
person
General Manager 1 420000 420000
Engineer 3 15000 45000
Supervisor 4 12000 48000

Skilled workers 5 8000 40000

Unskilled workers 6 4000 24000
Clerks 4 4000 16000
Total Rs. 5,93,000
Total labour cost = Rs. 5,93,000

Component % of FCI Cost (Rs.)

Total labour cost TLC 593000
Supervision charge 5 6013161.23
R&D & laboratory 25 30065806.15
Maintenance & repair 5 6013161.23
Utility 10 12026322.46
TOTAL 5.47 crores

Direct Production Cost

Direct product cost = Total raw material cost+ Total mfg. cost
= 8245726 + 54711451.07
= Rs 13.71 crores

Fixed Charges
Depreciation
On building & civil structure (5%FCI) = Rs. 60.13 lakhs
On plant and machinery(5%FCI) = Rs. 60.13 lakhs

Taxes (1.5 % FCI) = Rs. 18.03 lakhs

Insurance (1 % FCI) = Rs. 12.02 lakhs

Total fixed charges = Rs. 1.50 crores

Distribution & marketing cost (10% FCI) = Rs. 1.20 crores
Total production cost = Direct production cost +Total fixed charges +Distribution and marketing cost

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International Advanced Research Journal in Science, Engineering and Technology

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DOI: 10.17148/IARJSET.2022.9440
=137168677.1 + 15032903.08 + 12026322.46
= Rs. 16.4 crores

Estimation of Profit and Payback Period

Product = Activated Carbon
Quantity product = 20,40,816 Kg
Price / Kg = 140
Cost of product / year = Rs 28.57 crores

Product = Bio-oil
Quantity product = 8,70,300
Price / kg = 70
Cost of product / year = Rs 6.09 crores

Total Annual Sales = 285714240 + 60921000

= Rs 34.66 crores

Income Tax = 40% Gross Profit

= Rs. 13.86 crores

Net Profit = Gross Profit - Income Tax

= Rs 20.79 crores

Payout period = FCI / (Net profit +depreciation)

= 0.539 years
= 6.4 months

Rate of Return on Investment = Net profit/FCI

= 1.729

Since the Rate of Return is 1.729, the process is economically viable.

8. APPLICATIONS

Activated carbon is used in a wide range of industrial applications like gas and air cleaning involving traditional
reusable substance recovery applications. The selection of the most suitable type of activated carbon for a specific
application depends on the physical and chemical properties of the substances to be adsorbed. Growing environmental
awareness and the enforcement of strict emissions guidelines has led to the development of new applications in the area
of air pollutant removal. It has a wide range of applications and is also used in the treatment of water, including
drinking water, groundwater, service water and wastewater. Its principle role in this context is to adsorb dissolved
organic impurities and to eliminate substances affecting odour, taste and colour in halogenated hydrocarbons and other
organic pollutants. Another broad field of application for activated carbon is the treatment, purification and
decolourization of liquids in the pharmaceuticals, food, beverage and other industries.

9. CONCLUSION

Since the process yields were adapted from available literature, they should be quite accurate. However,
because the heat and mass transport parameters of the reactors do not remain constant as the reactor scales up, there ma
y be some unpredictability. Since a constant flow rate of water and other process streams is assumed, the flow rates of
the pump, conveyer belt, and compressor may be incorrect. As a result, the genuine flow rates experienced by some of
the equipment are significantly higher than the stream tables' time-averaged flow rates. The revenue earned by
distributing the activated carbon created is fairly accurate since it is computed using the market price of commercially
manufactured activated carbon. However, because the activated carbon was priced using the finest quality carbon sold,
there may be some variation in actual revenue. The nonlinear correlation between process parameters during scale-up
from laboratory-scale equipment to commercial-scale equipment is a possible source of inaccuracy in process design
and computations. As previously stated, the process parameters are derived from lab-scale research, which may or may

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International Advanced Research Journal in Science, Engineering and Technology

Impact Factor 7.105Vol. 9, Issue 4, April 2022
DOI: 10.17148/IARJSET.2022.9440
not be applicable once scaled up. However, because data on commercial-scale systems is scarce, a simple geometric
scale-up is employed.

10. REFERENCES

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