Ethylene Adsorption Using Cobalt Oxide-Loaded Polymer-Derived Nanoporous Carbon and Its Application to Extend Shelf Life of Fruit

• Main Authors: Imam Prasetyo, Nur Indah Fajar Mukti, Teguh Ariyanto
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-04-01
• Series: Molecules
• Subjects: ethylene removal; porous carbon; storage life; synthetic polymer
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/24/8/1507

Suppressing the amount of ethylene during storage has been of interest as a method to enhance shelf life of fruit. In this work, ethylene removal by adsorption using cobalt oxide-impregnated nanoporous carbon has been studied. Nanoporous carbon with a high surface area up to 2400 m² g^−1 was prepared by carbonization process biomass and synthetic polymer at 850 °C. Dispersion of cobalt oxide on porous carbon surface was carried out by an incipient wetness procedure followed by calcination process at 200 °C. Ethylene adsorption test was performed using a volumetric method in an ultrahigh vacuum rig constructed by Swagelok VCR® fittings. The results showed that the cobalt oxide/carbon system had significant ethylene adsorption capacity. Ethylene uptake increases with the increasing cobalt oxide loading on the carbon. The highest ethylene capacity of 16 mol kg^−1 adsorbent was obtained by using 30 wt.% (weight percentage) of cobalt oxide dispersed in polymer-derived carbon. In closed storage, the ratio of 15 g adsorbent/kg fruit may extend the storage life up to 12 d, higher than that without adsorbent (3 d). Therefore, the results demonstrate the great potential use of cobalt oxide-impregnated nanoporous carbon as an adsorbent for ethylene removal during storage of fruit.