Development of Activated Carbons from Coal Combustion By-Products. Annual Technical Progress Report, June 2002

摘要

The increasing role of coal as a source of energy in the 21st century will demand environmental and cost-effective strategies for the use of coal combustion by-products (CCBPs), mainly unburned carbon in fly ash. Unburned carbon is nowadays regarded as a waste product and its fate is mainly disposal, due to the present lack of efficient routes for its utilization. However, unburned carbon is a potential precursor for the production of adsorbent carbons, since it has gone through a devolatilization process while in the combustor, and therefore, only requires to be activated. Accordingly, this report evaluates and compares several routes for the production of activated carbons from unburned carbon in fly ash, including physical and chemical activation methods.