1
$\begingroup$

I etched active carbon with a concentrated KOH solution and added HCl to neutralize the KOH. Separeted the particles with centrifuge at 4000 rpm. They should be micron sized.

My boss asked me to stop using HCl and just separated the KOH with centrifugation. But the separation didn’t work. What influenced this?

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
5
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ Your active carbon particles may have been partially coated by carboxyl groups $\ce{-COOH}$, which have acidic properties. In contact with $\ce{KOH}$, these acidic groups are transformed into $\ce{-COO^-}$. So all particles are negatively charged and will repell one another. These repulsions are such that the particules will stay in emulsion and will not be separated by centrifugation. $\endgroup$
    – Maurice
    Mar 26, 2022 at 12:29
  • $\begingroup$ @Maurice That makes sense $\endgroup$
    – marietiara
    Mar 26, 2022 at 12:41
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ As a consequence, the only way of separating your charcoal particles by centrifugation is to first neutralize them by adding enough $\ce{HCl}$. $\endgroup$
    – Maurice
    Mar 26, 2022 at 12:50
  • $\begingroup$ Also, what is the density of the KOH solution? If it approaches that of the activated carbon (which has air bubbles), centrifugation might be difficult. $\endgroup$
    – DrMoishe Pippik
    Mar 27, 2022 at 23:41
  • $\begingroup$ I added diluted HCl until the pH of ~1 and that helped to separate the particles $\endgroup$
    – marietiara
    Mar 29, 2022 at 16:37

0

Reset to default

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy