Indian Journal of Chemical Technology, Vol.10, No.3, 298-304, 2003
Carbon molecular sieves (CMS) from coconut shell by carbonization and carbon dioxide activation
Carbon Molecular Sieves (CMS) are specially treated micro porous adsorbents derived from carbonaccous precursors. Due to the molecular sieving property, coupled with thermal, mechanical and chemical stability under acidic/alkaline conditions, CMS have found many applications in the field of difficult gas, as well as liquid separations from their mixtures, CMS have been successfully synthesized from a wide variety of carbonaceous materials, by the carbonization followed by carbon dioxide or steam activatiom The effect of carbonization temperature and activation temperature on the surface area as well as pore volume, calculated using the carbon dioxide adsorption data at room temperature is studied. The most suitable carbonization temperature is found to be in the range 750-850degreesC, beyond which the surface area is found EO decrease due to sintering of the particles at high temperature. The samples prepared were found to give good adsorption selectivity for CO2 over H-2 or N-2. Kinetic and equilibrium adsorption data for gases like, N-2, O-2, H-2, CH4 and equilibrium adsorption of selected organic vapours are also reported.