Mesoporous Activated Carbon Prepared from Bamboo by One-Step CO2 Activation Used for Puerarin Separation

The feasibility of preparing mesoporous activated carbons from bamboo, a fast growing plant in some Asian countries, particularly in China, was investigated. The effects of activation conditions, namely, activation temperature and retention time, on the characteristics of the activated carbons, i.e., specific surface area, pore size distribution and surface chemistry, were studied. The separation performance for Puerarin using the prepared bamboo activated carbon was compared to other adsorbents which included a commercial activated carbon and a macroporous resin. The experimental results showed that it was feasible to prepare mesoporous activated carbon from bamboo and to use it instead of the expensive resins presently used for Puerarin separation.