Materials that can produce activate

Materials that can produce activated carbons from plant origin include wood, peat, lignin, coal, vegetable waste from food processing,coconut shells, nut shells (almond, hazelnut, walnut, pecan and macadamia shells) and fruit stones (apricot, peach and cherry stones) (Gadkaree, 1997; Ahmadpour and Do, 1997; Khalili et al.,1999; Tancredi et al., 2004). In addition, alternative sources ranging from bone, sugar and tyres to waste sludge or bio-solids produced at municipal or industrial wastewater treatment facilities can also be used as precursors for producing activated carbons (Teng et al., 1997; Khalili et al., 1999; Lartey et al., 1999; Martin et al., 2002; Zabaniotou et al., 2004). On average, it takes approximately 1 Mt of raw material to produce 0.4 Mt of activated carbon globally at the beginning of the 21st century and the continuing demand for activated carbons will require more raw organic materials for processing (Marsh, 2001).