Petroleum coke (PC) is a product of heavy oil upgrading in refineries and consists of condensed polyaromatic clusters. Due to high carbon content (&gt;85wt.%), PC is a widely used as a precursor for high surface area microporous (&lt;2nm) activated carbon materials (ACP). However, an abundant micropore structure in APC limits the diffusion and not ideal for its use in practical applications such as catalyst support and electrical double layer capacitor. Here, we are reporting a fundamental investigation on the formation (kinetics and mechanism) of monodispersed super-microporous (1-2nm) and mesoporous (2-50 nm) network in APC with tunable pore size, surface area, pore volume, and surface oxygen groups using liquid phase oxidation/etching under hydrothermal conditions. This systematic study investigated the effects of acids (H2SO4 and HNO3) and experimental parameters (time: 1-3d and temperature: 120-240oC) on the surface functionality and porosity of APC. Synthesized materials are characterized using N2-sorption, XRD, Raman, SEM/EDX, TGA/FTIR, and XPS. Hydrothermal treatment of APC in 0.5M acid solution (1:3 H2SO4:HNO3) at 240oC enhanced the surface area of APC by 27% (892m2/g to 1134m2/g), increased the pore volume by 49% (508cc/g to 756cc/g), and decreased the microporosity by 44% (64% microporosity to 31% microporosity).

Investigation of tunable pore network formation in activated petroleum coke using hydrothermal treatment: A systematic study

ACS Fall 2021

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