International Journal of Membrane Science and Technology, 2022, 9, 1-12 1 E-ISSN: 2410-1869/22 © 2022 Cosmos Scholars Publishing House Synthesis and Characterization of Reduced Graphene Oxide from Indigenous Coal: A Non-Burning Solution Saud Hashmi 1 , Asim Mushtaq 1,* , Rafiq Ahmed 1 and Zaeem Uddin Ali 2 1 Polymer and Petrochemical Engineering Department, 2 Chemical Engineering Department, NED University of Engineering & Technology, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan Abstract: A great deal of research has been made into producing graphene or graphene oxide by utilizing graphite as a starting material. An alternate method of producing graphene is using low-grade coal as a starting material. Due to the abundance of coal in Pakistan and increased environmental concern from Government bodies and environmental agencies alike, increased awareness is being made to move over to non-burning solutions to fossil fuels. Experiments were performed on two ranks of coal in parallel; lignite and sub-bituminous. Coal was pretreated first to remove the undesired impurities, which could hinder the graphene synthesis later on. Acid washing with multiple waters was done, followed by carbonization in the furnace. After the pretreatment, the Hummers method was chosen as a chemical process for synthesizing graphene. It is a less complex method, can be easily performed with available resources, and is comparatively cheaper and environmentally friendly. The resulting sample was tested with SEM and EDS, and graphene oxide was confirmed. It was followed by a water-based reduction method to produce reduced graphene oxide from graphene oxide. This modified hydrothermal method was chosen for its eco-friendliness. The final sample was dried and tested with XRD, SEM, FTIR, and RAMAN to authenticate the type of graphene produced. Graphene has remarkable properties, including very high tensile modulus, extremely high thermal conductivity, and charge carrier mobility exceeding 200,000 cm 2 V -1 s -1 . Such properties are reason enough to explore low cost, environment friendly, and scalable means of graphene production. Potential graphene applications in various medical, chemical and industrial processes are enhanced or enabled by using new graphene materials. Keywords: Coal, Graphene graphite, Hummers method, Hydrothermal method, Water-based reduction method. INTRODUCTION Since graphene’s discovery in 2004, graphene has been of great attraction to the scientific community. Graphene catches scientific attention due to its fascinating electronic, thermal, mechanical, catalytic, optical, and magnetic properties with great potential in various applications ranging from energy storage, nanocomposite to biomedical materials. It has led to significant interest in the large-scale production of graphene. Many methods have been proposed, including electrochemical exfoliation, graphite exfoliation via intercalates, graphite solvation, arc discharge, unzipping carbon nanotubes, epitaxial growth, chemical vapor deposition, as well as other techniques of chemical oxidation based on the Hummers method [1, 2]. Most of these methods utilize graphite as a starting material because it’s rich in carbon content and high purity make it most suitable for graphene synthesis. Undoubtedly, high-quality graphene can be obtained from a graphitic base, making it expensive. There is a need for alternate base material for graphene synthesis, which is relatively cheap and readily available in nature [3, 4]. * Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Polymer and Petrochemical Engineering, NED University of Engineering & Technology, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Tel: +92-99261261 Ext: 2419; E-mail: engrasimmushtaq@yahoo.com Coal is the oldest carbon source known to humankind, extensively used as a solid fuel worldwide, and has the most significant global fossil fuel reserves. The burning of coal is malignant to the environment and the living things, but because coal is so copious and inexpensive, many people are reluctant to give it up as a fuel source. One of the significant downsides of burning coal is that it releases toxins. Coal contains sulfur and other elements, including dangerous metals such as mercury, lead, and arsenic that escape into the environment when it is burned. Burning coal unleashes substantial amounts of carbon dioxide and oxides of sulfur into the atmosphere. These emissions have been shown to increase the greenhouse effect in the atmosphere and global. The reality is that coal is not going away, nor is the growth that spurs its consumption. The challenge is how to utilize coal without these disastrous emissions. Due to the abundance of coal in Pakistan and increased environmental concern from Government bodies and environmental agencies alike, increased awareness is being made to move over to non-burning solutions to fossil fuels [5-7]. The high carbon content and solubilization of minerals in coal can potentially utilize the inherently dirty solid fuel to a source of prestigious carbon nanomaterials such as graphene, graphene quantum dots, or carbon nanotubes. The coal is constituted of