Abstract
Methane adsorption by different forms of activated carbon obtained from coffee husks, including monolith honeycomb and disc types, was studied by activation with zinc salts and potassium hydroxide at 298.15 K and 303.15 K and pressures up to 30.00 atm in a volumetric adsorption apparatus. We observed increased methane adsorption capacity on a mass basis in the different activated carbon monoliths with increasing surface area, total pore volume and micropore volume, with the honeycomb type displaying the highest methane absorption capacity. The maximum volumetric methane uptake by the synthesised carbon monoliths was observed to be 130 V/V at 298.15 K and 30.00 atm for honeycomb monoliths synthesised with zinc chloride (ZnCl2) and Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as the binder. Adsorption calorimetry results were used to describe the interaction between guest molecules and the adsorbent at low surface coverage and the energetic heterogeneous surface nature of the adsorbent.
Highlights
The global crisis over the coming shortage of fossil fuels is increasing, while the environmental effects of continued fossil fuel use are already being felt in the form of the greenhouse effect and global climate change
We investigated the methane storage capacities of two forms of activated carbon, a powder and a monolith, obtained by chemical activation of waste coffee husks: an abundant waste product
The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area of the carbon monoliths increased from 890 m2/g to 1326 m2/g under the activation conditions used
Summary
The global crisis over the coming shortage of fossil fuels is increasing, while the environmental effects of continued fossil fuel use are already being felt in the form of the greenhouse effect and global climate change. Because of this environmental crisis, researchers have proposed several interesting solutions to avoid the massive use of fossil fuels, which will hopefully result in a cleaner planet. One of these proposals is to develop materials that enable storage and subsequent release of less harmful fuels, such as methane. Natural gas is abundant and the cleanest burning alternative transportation fuel available
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