Preparation of activated carbon with high surface area using crab shell and shochu waste and the development of methane storage technology

Abstract

Methane gas is an energy alternative to petroleum. However, the two conventional methods of storing methane gas, as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), involve a high degree of risk in terms of safety. To develop a high-safety and low-cost method of storing methane gas, we examined its adsorption on activated carbon newly prepared from biomass waste (crab shell and shochu waste) by chemical activation with K2CO3. The activated carbons prepared from the mixture of crab shell and shochu waste exhibited a maximum specific surface area of 3212 m2/g as measured by nitrogen gas adsorption, which is more than double that of commercially available activated carbon. The adsorption isotherms of methane gas at 25 °C were measured using the new activated carbons and the results revealed that their adsorption capacities for methane gas were particularly influenced by their micropore volume. [TANSO 2014 (No. 262), 53–58.]