Textural and Fractal Characteristics of KOH-Activated Microporous Carbon Materials and their Carbon Dioxide Storage Performances

Abstract:

Commercial activated carbon has been activated with KOH in order to investigate the effect of textural characteristics on CO₂ storage behaviors. The KOH activation has significantly enhanced the textural properties of the adsorbents, as compared to the pristine sample. CO₂ adsorption tests on the activated carbons were measured at 298 K and pressures up to 5.0 MPa, and the Langmuir-Freundlich isotherm was used to fit the adsorption data. The CO₂ uptake for the resulting adsorbents was significantly higher than that of the starting adsorbent in the studied pressure range. To better understand the structures and their influences on the CO₂ uptake, fractal analysis was conducted for the adsorbents on the basis of Frenkel-Halsey-Hill (FHH) equation. Fractal dimensions (D₁ and D₂) that calculated from N₂ adsorption data were discussed. The results showed that the two fractal dimensions have different influences on CO₂ adsorption capacity. There was a negative linear correlation between CO₂ maximum uptake and D₁, while CO₂ adsorption capacity increased with fractal dimension D₂ increasing. Therefore, it was concluded that appropriate pore structure fractal dimension with narrower PSDs within the microporous range had higher CO₂ adsorption capacity for the adsorbents.

• Periodical: Advanced Materials Research (Volume 1118)
• Pages: 255-264
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.1118.255
• Online since: July 2015
• Authors: Yan Yan Feng, Wen Yang, Tao Lin, Wei Chu*
• Keywords: Activated Carbon, CO₂ Adsorption, Fractal Analysis, KOH Activation

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