Synthesis, Characterization, and Evaluation of Activated Carbon Spheres for Removal of Dibenzothiophene from Model Diesel Fuel

Abstract

Activated carbon spheres (ACSs) with high surface area and different porous structure were prepared from the fundamental chemical materials, 3-methylphenol and formaldehyde, by suspension polymerization and steam activation. The effects of two organic additives, ethylene glycol and poly(ethylene glycol), to the textural structure and adsorptive dibenzothiophene (DBT) of ACSs were investigated. The pyrolysis behavior of the resin spheres (RSs) was characterized by thermal gravimetric analysis. The texture properties of the obtained ACSs were characterized by N2 adsorption–desorption and scanning electron microscope (SEM) techniques. The as-prepared ACSs reached a Brunauer–Emmet–Teller (BET) surface area value as high as 1501 m2/g and a total pore volume of 0.72 cm3/g. The BET surface areas and pore volumes increased after adding two organic additives. The adsorptive capacity of DBT for model oil had a good linear correlation with the volume of small micropores (0.6 −1.2 nm).