Carbon material formation and residue characteristics of SBA-15 and nickel impregnated SBA-15 as exemplified by acetone decomposition

Abstract

Abstract In this research, SBA-15 (Santa Barbara Amorphous-15) is used as the template and nickel serves as the impregnating catalyst for conversion to Ni-SBA-15. In the present test, the BET surface area of SBA-15 is 652 m2/g and Ni-SBA-15 477 m2/g. The average pore size for SBA-15 is 41 A and for the Ni-SBA-15 is 56 A. The carbon material synthesized between 650 and 850 °C using scarping acetone solvent on the templates. Analysis reveals that the bigger the average pore diameter, the smaller the BET surface area and pore volume of the carbon materials which form on SBA-15 and Ni-SBA-15. The exterior of the SBA-15 becomes coated with soot particles; acetone and Ni-SBA-15 combine to form carbon nanotubes at 650, 750, and 850 °C. Less than 10% of the acetone forms carbon materials on the templates, with the majority decomposing to form tar or be discharged as exhaust gas. During the gas phase, BETX (benzene, ethyltoluene, toluene, and xylene), propene and isopentane are the main VOC compositions during solvent pyrolysis. PAHs are mainly composed of naphthalene and pyrene during the acetone breakdown on the SBA-15 and Ni-SBA-15. These results reveal that Ni catalyst can enhance PAH formation to form carbon materials and decrease VOC concentration.