This project aims at investigating characteristics and physical properties of cassava stem charcoal which was
prepared by annealing the cassava stem at 300 ºC for 30 minutes under an atmospheric condition. Charcoal
properties, namely, the volume of fixed carbon, porosity, density, water and methylene blue (MB) adsorption
abilities were assessed using various techniques. Results from energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis
indicated that percentage of fixed carbon content increased from 55.32 % to 66.10 % after annealing.
Examination of the charcoal under a scanning electron microscope (SEM) at 500x magnification showed that
pore shape was roughly rectangular and rather consistent both in shape and size. The average length of the
pore was about 150 μm. The density of cassava stem charcoal was about 0.013 g/cm2 and water adsorption
ability was about 21.009 g/g of charcoal weight. The methylene blue adsorption efficiency of charcoal was
investigated by determining the MB remained in aqueous solution using a spectrophotometer by measuring
the absorbance at 665 nm. Percentage of MB removal and the amounts of MB adsorbed per gram of charcoal
were determined. It was found that the cassava stem charcoal exhibited about 50% removal efficiency. The
amount of MB adsorbed was 2.984 mg/g charcoal.