Chicken cartilage was used for the first time as a raw material for the microwave-assisted synthesis of biochar and activated carbon. Various microwave absorbers, i.e., commercial active carbon, scrap tyres, silicon carbide, and chicken bone-derived biochar, as well as various microwave powers, were tested for their effect on the rate of pyrolysis and the type of products formed. Biochars synthesised under 400 W in the presence of scrap tyres and chicken bone-derived biochar were activated with KOH and K2CO3 with detergent to produce activated carbon with a highly developed porous structure that would be able to effectively adsorb xylene vapours. All carbons were thoroughly characterised (infrared spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, nitrogen adsorption/desorption, Raman spectroscopy, proximate and ultimate analysis) and tested as xylene sorbents in dynamic systems. It was found that the activation causes an increase of up to 1042 m2·g-1 in the specific surface area, which ensures the sorption capacity of xylene about 300 mg·g-1. Studies of the composition of biogas emitted during pyrolysis revealed that particularly valuable gaseous products are formed when pyrolysis is carried out in the presence of silicon carbide as a microwave absorber.
Keywords: adsorption; microporous carbon adsorbent; microwave pyrolysis; volatile organic compounds (VOC); waste animal bones.