CHARACTERIZATION OF ACTIVATED CARBON DERIVED FROM MILLET CHAFF AND ITS COMPARISON WITH COMMERCIAL ACTIVATED CARBON

his work has examined the characteristics of activated carbon produced from millet chaff and a commercial activated carbon. The chaff is the waste generated from processing millet to produce pap (akamu) which is used as a weaning food in most families. Activated carbon' was produced from millet chaff using chemical and physical methods. The chemical activation was done ' with 1M phosphoric acid and was carbonised in a furnace at 6oo°C for an hour. The formed activated carbon was removed, rinsed with 0.1MHCI, washed with distilled water arid dried to obtain chemical activated carbon (ChAC). Direct heating of the chaff in the furnace at 400°Cfor 2 hours produced physical activated carbon (PAC). The produced activated carbons and a commercial activated carbon (CAC) were characterised for: pH, moisture content, ash content, pore volume, porosity and bulk density using standard methods. The results