Several samples of activated carbon were prepared by physical (CO₂) and chemical (H₃PO₄) activation of aspen wood and tested for the adsorption of organic compounds from water generated during the recovery of bitumen using steam assisted gravity drainage. Total organic carbon removal by the carbon samples increased proportionally with total pore volume as determined from N₂ adsorption isotherms at -196 °C. The activated carbon produced by CO₂ activation had similar removal levels for total organic carbon from the water (up to 70%) to those samples activated with H₃PO₄, but lower yields, due to losses during pyrolysis and activation. A method to increase the yield when using CO₂ activation was proposed and consisted of recycling bio-oil produced from previous runs to the aspen wood feed, followed by either KOH addition (0.48%) or air pretreatment (220 °C for 3 h) before pyrolysis and activation. By recycling the bio-oil, the yield of CO₂ activated carbon (after air pretreatment of the mixture) was increased by a factor of 1.3. Due to the higher carbon yield, the corresponding total organic carbon removal, per mass of wood feed, increased by a factor of 1.2 thus improving the overall process efficiency.
Keywords: activated carbon; adsorption; bio-oil; pore volume; water treatment; yield.