{"references": ["I. H. Aljundi and N. Jarrah, \"A study of characteristics of activated\ncarbon produced from Jordanian olive cake,\" J. Anal. Appl. Pyrol., vol.\n81, pp. 33-36, 2008.", "M. Valix, W. H. Cheung, and G. McKay, \"Preparation of activated\ncarbon using low temperature carbonisation and physical activation of\nhigh ash raw bagasse for acid dye adsorption,\" Chemosphere, vol. 56,\npp. 493-501, 2004.", "I. A. W. Tan, A. L. Ahmad, and B. H. Hameed, \"Adsorption of basic dye\non high-surface-area activated carbon prepared from coconut husk:\nEquilibrium, kinetic and thermodynamic studies,\" J. Hazard. Mater.,\nvol. 154, pp. 337-346, 2008.", "S. Sumathi, S. Bhatia, K. T. Lee, and A. R. Mohamed, \"Optimization of\nmicroporous palm shell activated carbon production for flue gas\ndesulphurization: experimental and statistical studies,\" Bioresour.\nTechnol., vol. 100, pp. 1614-1621, 2009.", "C. Moreno-Castilla, F. Carrasco-Mar\u251c\u00a1n, M. V. L\u251c\u2502pez-Ram\u251c\u2502n, and M. A.\nAlvarez-Merino, \"Chemical and physical activation of olive-mill waste\nwater to produce activated carbons,\" Carbon, vol. 39, pp. 1415-1420,\n2001.", "F. C. Wu, R. L. Tseng, and C. C. Hu, \"Comparisons of pore properties\nand adsorption performance of KOH-activated and steam-activated\ncarbons,\" Microporous Mesoporous Mater., vol. 80, pp. 95-106, 2005.", "J. Hayashi, A. Kazehaya, K. Muroyama, and A. P. Watkinson,\n\"Preparation of activated carbon from lignin by chemical activation,\"\nCarbon, vol. 38, pp. 1873-1878, 2000.", "K. K. H. Choy, J. P. Barford, and G. McKay, \"Production of activated\ncarbon from bamboo scaffolding waste - process design, evaluation and\nsensitivity analysis,\" Chem. Eng. J., vol. 109, pp. 147-165, 2005.", "E. L. K. Mui, W. H. Cheung, M. Valix, and G. McKay, \"Activated\ncarbons from bamboo scaffolding using acid activation,\" Sep. Purif.\nTechnol., vol. 74, pp. 213-218, 2010.\n[10] L. G. Wang and G. B. Yan, \"Adsorptive removal of direct yellow\n161dye from aqueous solution using bamboo charcoals activated with\ndifferent chemicals,\" Desalination, 2011. In Press.\ndoi:10.1016/j.desal.2011.01.082.\n[11] A. Ahmadpour and D. D. Do, \"The preparation of active carbons from\ncoal by chemical and physical activation,\" Carbon, vol. 34, No. 4, pp.\n471-479, 1996.\n[12] Z. Hu and E. F. Vansant, \"Synthesis and characterization of a controlledmicropore-\nsize carbonaceous adsorbent produced from walnut shell,\"\nMicroporous Mater., vol. 3, pp. 603-612, 1995.\n[13] R. Malik, D. S. Ramteke, and S. R. Wate, \"Adsorption of malachite\ngreen on groundnut shell waste based powdered activated carbon,\"\nWaste Manag., vol. 27, pp. 1129-1138, 2007.\n[14] S. Yenisoy-Karaka\u015f, A. Ayg\u00fcn, M. G\u00fcne\u015f, and E. Tahtasakal, \"Physical\nand chemical characteristics of polymer-based spherical activated carbon\nand its ability to adsorb organics,\" Carbon, vol. 42 pp. 477-484, 2004.\n[15] B. H. Hameed, A. T. M. Din, and A. L. Ahmad, \"Adsorption of\nmethylene blue onto bamboo-based activated carbon: kinetics and\nequilibrium studies,\" J. Hazard. Mater., vol. 141, pp. 819-825, 2007.\n[16] L. S. Chan, W. H. Cheung, and G. McKay, \"Adsorption of acid dyes by\nbamboo derived activated carbon,\" Desalination, vol. 218, pp. 304-312,\n2008.\n[17] A. A. Ahmad and B. H. Hameed, \"Reduction of COD and color of\ndyeing effluent from a cotton textile mill by adsorption onto bamboobased\nactivated carbon,\" J. Hazard. Mater., vol. 172, pp. 1538-1543,\n2009."]}

The production of activated carbon from low or zero cost of agricultural by-products or wastes has received great attention from academics and practitioners due to its economic and environmental benefits. In the production of bamboo furniture, a significant amount of bamboo waste is inevitably generated. Therefore, this research aimed to prepare activated carbons from bamboo furniture waste by chemical (KOH) activation and determine their properties and adsorption capacities for water treatment. The influence of carbonization time on the properties and adsorption capacities of activated carbons was also investigated. The finding showed that the bamboo-derived activated carbons had microporous characteristics. They exhibited high tendency for the reduction of impurities present in effluent water. Their adsorption capacities were comparable to the adsorption capacity of a commercial activated carbon regarding to the reduction in COD, TDS and turbidity of the effluent water.