Preparation of activated carbon from peanut shell with KOH activation and its application for H2S adsorption in confined space

[Display omitted] •Activated carbon filter derived from peanut shell with KOH activation was utilized for H2S removal.•Carbonization temperature significantly affected the texture properties of activated carbon.•Max H2S adsorption capacity was 98 mg/g using the best activated carbon filter (SBET = 1523 m2/g).•Adsorption of H2S followed Langmuir isotherm model and Pseudo-first order kinetic model.•Regeneration of used activated carbon filter through heating under argon was available. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), as a major air pollutant, poses a serious threat to people`s health, especially in confined spaces. In this study, a porous carbon filter was developed by impregnating a copper on activated carbon derived from peanut shell biomass. The carbonization temperature can significantly affect the texture properties of activated carbon, and the optimized temperature was 450 ℃. The optimal activated carbon sample (SBET = 1523.2 m2/g, Vmicro = 0.533 cm3/g) was prepared at a carbonization temperature of 450℃ and KOH activation at 750 ℃. The best adsorption performance was obtained with a copper impregnated optimal activated carbon (Cu/PAC-450) filter, and the maximum adsorption capacity was found to be 97.63 mg/g. As the initial concentration of H2S increased, the adsorption efficiency decreased. Adsorption isotherm and kinetic studies showed that Langmuir isotherm model was the best-fitted model for the adsorption of H2S on Cu/PAC-450 filter, with a correlation coefficient of 0.9627. The adsorption kinetic process followed the pseudo first order model, and the adsorption mechanism was controlled by intraparticle diffusion along with film diffusion model. The used Cu/PAC-450 filter can be successfully regenerated, which showed good reusability. The Cu/PAC-450 has a very broad prospect for use in household appliances (such as refrigerator, air conditioner, microwave oven, etc.) for indoor air purification. Therefore, this study is expected to expand the utilization of agriculture waste for the indoor air purification.