ACTIVATED CARBON FROM RENEWABLE RESOURCES - LIGNIN

摘要

The world consumption of activated carbon is approximately 1.1 million tons per annum. Only some 15-20% of this is manufactured using renewable resources. Lignins in kraft pulp black liquors are polyaromatic macromolecules with about 60 wt% carbon contents, derived from renewable resources. Recently, an efficient process for the recovery of lignin from kraft black liquor has been developed, "LignoBoost"; this lignin has a carbon content of-66 wt%. In 2010, a research consortium of Sodra, Jacobi Carbons and Innventia, initiated the "LignActiv" project to establish the commercial and environmental sustainability of the manufacture of activated carbon from this lignin. This paper reports initial studies on the carbonization and activation behaviour of "Lignoboost" lignin subjected to laboratory scale physico-chemical activation processes. The paper describes the yields and physical properties of lignin-based chars and provides an initial evaluation of the nanoporous structure of the resultant "LignAcnv"-activated carbons.