Granular activated carbons from sugarcane bagasse: production and uses

The USA produces some 8.6 million tonnes of bagasse per year, most of which is burned to produce steam. The remainder (around 1.4 million tonnes) pres ents a disposal problem, or is used in low-value products. However, an alte rnative use would be to convert it into Granulated Activated Carbon (GAC), GAC's derived from bagasse could have a number of advantages over competing substances (largely bone char or material derived from bituminous coal) us ed in sugar decolorisation and various other processes. This paper reports on the evaluation of several bagasse-based GAC materials in sugar decolorization trials, in comparison with commercial carbon prepa rations. The type of binder used was found to have potent effects on the pr operties of the bagasse-based GAC's, Several of these GAC's gave sugar deco lorization comparable to that achieved by the commercial preparations, alth ough none of them fully matched the commercial material in physico-chemical terms. The cheapness and availability of bagasse, and the encouraging resu lts so far collated, suggest that further research should be conducted into the potential of bagasse-based GAC's.