Production of carbon molecular sieves from Illinois coal. Technical report, December 1, 1992--February 28, 1993

Abstract

Carbon molecular sieves (CMS) have become an increasingly important class of adsorbents for use in gas separation and recovery processes. The overall objective of this project is to determine whether Illinois Basin coals are suitable feedstocks for the production of CMS and to evaluate the potential application of these products in commercial gas separation processes. In Phase 1 of this project, gram quantities of char were prepared from Illinois coal in a fixed-bed reactor under a wide range of pyrolysis and activation conditions. Chars having surface areas of 1500--2100 M{sup 2}/g were produced by chemical activation using potassium hydroxide (KOH) as the activant. These high surface area chars had more than twice the adsorption capacity of commercial molecular sieves. The kinetics of adsorption of various gases, e.g., N{sub 2}, O{sub 2}, CO{sub 2}, CH{sub 4}, CO and H{sub 2}, on these chars at 25{degrees}C was determined. Several chars showed good potential for efficient O{sub 2}/N{sub 2}, CO{sub 2}/CH{sub 4}, CO{sub 2}/H{sub 2} and CH{sub 4}/H{sub 2} separation; both a high adsorption capacity and selectivity were achieved. The full potential of these materials in commercial gas separations has yet to be realized. In Phase 2 of this project, currently in progress, larger quantities of char are being prepared from Illinois coal in a batch fluidized-bed reactor (FBR) and in a continuous rotary tube kiln (RTK). The pore structure of the prepared chars will be tailored for a specific gas separation process by activation in CO{sub 2} and H{sub 2}O and/or carbon deposition with CH{sub 4}.