Zeolite-templated carbons process with recycled materials and characterisation for energy storage applications

Abstract

Quantity and quality are the two most important challenges for applying zeolite-templated carbons (ZTCs) into the industry. To provide more information on the mass production in the large-scale facility, depreciation of the quasi-crystal graphite carbon, utilisation of recycled acetylene and zeolite, and online quick quality control for the production of ZTCs, three types of reactors were applied under similar experimental conditions to investigate the ZTC production rate and the generation of the quasi-crystal graphite carbon on the uppermost layer of ZTC. The best specific surface area and carbon yield efficiency from the generation of ZTC were obtained using a fluidised-bed reactor (FBR). The occurrence of the quasi-crystal graphite carbon also disappeared using a FBR. The fluidised-bed-particle kinetic model was also established to demonstrate the feasibility of accomplishing the yield of 0.5 kg per day in the pilot-scale FBR experiments. The utilisation of recycled acetylene could reach 85% and the recovered rate of zeolite was around 60%. An on-site standard operating procedure (SOP) for QA/QC was also proposed for ZTC preparation and characterisation, which prominently shortened the production time for the laboratory preparation of ZTC and achieved superior hydrogen storage and electrochemical capacity.