Efficient adsorption of carbon dioxide and methane on activated carbon prepared from glycerol with potassium acetate

In the context of global warming and the energy crisis, emissions to the atmosphere of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and methane (CH 4 ) should be reduced, and biomethane from landfill biogas should be recycled. For this, there is a need for affordable technologies to capture carbon dioxide, such as adsorption of biogas on activated carbon produced from industrial wastes. Here we converted glycerol, a largely available by-product from biodiesel production, into activated carbon with the first use of potassium acetate as an activating agent. We studied adsorption of CO 2 and CH 4 on activated carbon. The results show that activated carbon adsorb CO 2 up to 20% activated carbon weight at 250 kPa, and 9% at atmospheric pressure. This is explained by high specific surface areas up to 1115 m 2 g −1 . Moreover, selectivity values up to 10.6 are observed for the separation of CO 2 /CH 4 . We also found that the equivalent CO 2 emissions from activated carbon synthesis are easily neutralized by their use, even in a small biogas production unit.