Olive-mill waste water is produced in large quantities during the manufactu
re process of the olive oil in mills. This by-product has been used as raw
material to produce activated carbons by both chemical and physical activat
ion methods. In the first case, KOH and H3PO4 were used as activating agent
, and in the second case, CO2 at 840 degreesC for different periods of time
. Results obtained indicate that the chemical activation with KOH at 800 de
greesC, in an inert atmosphere, yielded activated carbons with the highest
surface area and more developed micro, meso and macroporosity. (C) 2001 Els
evier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.