Activated Carbon Fiber and Textiles

Jonathan Y Chen

• Publisher: Woodhead Publishing
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9780081006603
• eBook ISBN: 9780081006788
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Materials Science
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Activated Carbon Fiber and Textiles provides systematic coverage of the fundamentals, properties, and current and emerging applications of carbon fiber textiles in a single volume, providing industry professionals and academics working in the field with a broader understanding of these materials. Part I discusses carbon fiber principles and production, including precursors and pyrolysis, carbon fiber spinning, and carbonization and activation. Part II provides more detailed analysis of the key properties of carbon fiber textiles, including their thermal, acoustic, electrical, adsorption, and mechanical behaviors. The final section covers applications of carbon fiber such as filtration, energy protection, and energy and gas storage.- Features input from an editor who is an expert in his field: Professor Jonathan Chen has a wealth of experience in the area of activated carbon fiber materials- Provides systematic and comprehensive coverage of the key aspects of activated carbon fiber textiles, from their principles, processing, and properties to their industrial applications- Offers up-to-date coverage of new technology for the fiber and textiles industries- Covers applications such as filtration, energy protection, and energy and gas storage

Section A

Fundamentals of Carbonized and Activated Carbon

1

Introduction

J.Y. Chen The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States

Abstract

Activated carbon materials are traditional chemical adsorbents because of their very high specific surface area and high micropore volume. Recent industrial attention has been drawn to activated carbon fiber and textiles. Conversion of textile materials into active carbon products is a cutting-edge technology overlapped by fiber/textile manufacturing and polymer thermochemical processes. As an introduction, this chapter begins with an overview of the evolution of uses and production of activated carbon materials from activated carbon particles to activated carbon fiber. Following this is a discussion about scientific and engineering features of activated carbon materials relevant to textile processes, thermochemical processes, and material structure and properties. To give a sense of production cost effectiveness, a comparison of production cost between activated carbon fiber and granular activated carbon is exhibited. Finally, the chapter provides an outlook on the present market and further development of activated carbon materials, including current market shares, end-use applications, and future trends.

Keywords

Activated carbon; Activated carbon fiber; Carbon fiber; Textile process; Thermochemical process; Pyrolysis; Carbonization; Gasification; Lignocellulose biomass; Graphitic structure; ACF micropore; ACF macropore

1.1 Brief history of activated carbon materials

1.1.1 Activated carbon

Since the dawn of civilization, activated carbon has been one of the most useful biobased materials known to human beings. Naturally available activated carbon is charcoal, a resultant from burning wood. According to the literature, the earliest uses of charcoal in history were for fuel (to smelt ores), wood preservation, and medicine for a number of remedies such as treatments for gangrenous ulcers, epilepsy, intestinal disorder, and chlorosis. A milestone in the research on charcoal adsorbability was achieved by the Swedish chemist Carl W. Scheele, who in 1773 measured the volume of gases adsorbed by charcoal in order to determine its adsorption forces. This led to another research finding by Johann Tobias Lowitz in 1776 that charcoal could be used for solution decolorization after knowing that charcoal was also adsorptive in its liquid phase (Burns et al., 2014). A significant industrial impact of this finding was on sugar refineries, which have used charcoal to decolor sugar since 1794. It is therefore not difficult to understand why the industrial process for producing activated carbon materials was developed in the 1800s. The first commercial application of active carbon for potable water purification was also reported during this time (Crookes, 1861).

Modern research and manufacture of activated carbon can be dated back to the early 1900s (Smisek and Cerny, 1970). A thermochemical approach including both carbonization and activation was developed for producing activated carbon products. In the early stage of the production, the manufacturing technology was mainly used for converting organic substances of biological origin, such as wood, coal, coconut shells, banana pitch, and corncobs, into chars. Therefore, activated carbon materials were produced in various particulate forms, which were usually difficult to handle in many industrial processes. As a result, end-use applications of active carbon materials were limited. To date, commercial charcoal products have been generally divided into three categories: powdery active carbon (PAC, particle size 1–150 μm); granular active carbon (GAC, particle size 0.5–4 mm); and extruded active carbon (EAC, particle size 0.8–4 mm).

Today, PAC and GAC products are still two major segments of the active carbon market. It is reported that the global active carbon market share is: powdery products, 48%; granular products, 35%; and other products, 17%. Industrial applications with respect to these active carbon products cover both the liquid phase and the gas phase end uses. For example, water treatment has been a traditional application area, with the fastest growing rate for the powdery activated carbon because of its efficiency in effluent control. Driven by the US regulation for coal-fired utilities to cut mercury emissions by 2018, the use of powdery activated carbon for air purification has also increased significantly due to the need for mercury removal from power plants and cement kilns. Other application areas include pharmaceutical and medical, food and beverage, and automotives.

1.1.2 Activated carbon fiber

A method of producing carbonaceous fibers by carbonization and activation of cellulosic fibers was reported in the 1960s, with the purpose of seeking flame-resistant textiles (Tang and Bacon, 1964; Bacon and Tang, 1964). At that time, industries were keen to develop new technologies for producing high-strength and high-modulus carbon fibers (CF) required in the manufacture of high-performance composite materials, such as Union Carbide's effort to commercialize rayon-based CF and DuPont's work on carbonizing acrylic ...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Contributors
• Preface
• Woodhead Publishing Series in Textiles
• Section A: Fundamentals of Carbonized and Activated Carbon
• Section B: Properties of Activated Carbon Fibers
• Section C: Applications of Activated Carbon Fiber Textiles
• Index