The following work deals with the preparation of highly porous activated biochar from the sugarcane bagasse (SB) via potassium hydroxide activation and optimization by a D-optimal design. Activation temperatures within the range of 600 to 800 °C, holding times between 60 and 180 min, and KOH impregnation ratios (WKOH/WRBC) ranging be-tween 0.5, 1, and 2 were explored with a view to enhance properties, like Brunauer-–Emmett-–Teller (BET) surface area and total pore volume of biochar while considering mean diameter as well. Optimized conditions in this study were an activation temperature of 800 °C, holding time of 120 min, and KOH impregnation ratio of 1:1. The activated bio-char prepared under such conditions had a very high BET surface area, 1149 m2/g, and a total pore volume, of 0.53 cm3/g. This was further characterized by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, indicating improved microporosity with a view to application in adsorption studies. ItThis is a sustainable work to obtain economical high-performance biochar from agricultural waste for applica-tion in adsorption and catalytic processes.
