Upgrading recovered carbon black (rCB) from industrial-scale end-of-life tires (ELTs) pyrolysis to activated carbons: Material characterization and CO2 capture abilities.

The current study presents for the first time how recovered carbon black (rCB) obtained directly from the industrial-scale end-of-life tires (ELTs) pyrolysis sector is applied as a precursor for activated carbons (ACs) with application in CO2 capture. The rCB shows better physical characteristics, including density and carbon structure, as well as chemical properties, such as a consistent composition and low impurity concentration, in comparison to the pyrolytic char. Potassium hydroxide and air in combination with heat treatment (500-900 °C) were applied as agents for the conventional chemical and physical activation of the material. The ACs were tested for their potential to capture CO2. Ultimate and proximate analysis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and N2/CO2 gas adsorption/desorption isotherms were used as material characterization methods. Analysis revealed that KOH-activated carbon at 900 °C (AC-900K) exhibited the highest surface area and a pore volume that increased 6 and 3 times compared to pristine rCB. Moreover, the AC-900K possessed a well-developed dual porosity, corresponding to the 22% and 78% of micropore and mesopore volume, respectively. At 0 °C and 25 °C, AC-900K also showed a CO2 adsorption capacity equal to 30.90 cm3/g and 20.53 cm3/g at 1 bar, along with stable cyclic regeneration after 10 cycles. The high dependence of CO2 uptake on the micropore volume at width below 0.7-0.8 nm was identified. The selectivity towards CO2 in relation to N2 reached high values of 350.91 (CO2/N2 binary mixture) and 59.70 (15% CO2/85% N2).

CO2 adsorption on carbonaceous materials obtained from forestry and urban waste materials: a comparative study.

The increasing emissions of gaseous pollutants of anthropogenic origin, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), which causes global warming, have raised great interest in developing and improving processes that allow their mitigation. Among them, adsorption on porous materials has been proposed as a sustainable alternative. This work presents a study of CO2 equilibrium adsorption at low temperatures (0, 10, and 20 °C) over a wide range of low pressures, on activated carbon derived from Eucalyptus (ES) and Patula pine (PP) forest waste, and carbonaceous material derived from waste tires (WT). The precursors of these materials were previously prepared, and their physicochemical properties were characterized. ES and PP were thermochemically treated with phosphoric acid, and WT was oxidized with nitric acid. Additionally, these materials were used to obtain monoliths using uniaxial compaction techniques and different binding agents, with better results obtained with montmorillonite. A total of six adsorbent solids had their textural and chemical properties characterized and were tested for CO2 adsorption. The highest specific surface area (1405 m2 g-1), and micropore properties were found for activated carbon derived from Eucalyptus whose highest adsorption capacity ranged from 2.27 mmol g-1 (at 0 °C and 100 kPa) to 1.60 mmol g-1 (at 20 °C and 100 kPa). The activated carbon monoliths presented the lowest CO2 adsorption capacities; however, the studied materials showed high potential for CO2 capture and storage applications at high pressures. The isosteric heats of adsorption were also estimated for all the materials and ranged from 16 to 45 kJ mol-1 at very low coverage explained by the energetic heterogeneity and weak repulsive interactions among adsorbed CO2 molecules.

Dataset on adsorption of phenol onto activated carbons: Equilibrium, kinetics and mechanism of adsorption.

Two activated carbons (AC) prepared from onion leaves (OL) (Allium fistulosum) and palm kernel shell (PS) (Elaeis guineesis) were used to adsorb phenol from aqueous solution. Adsorption kinetics was studied by Pseudo-first order (PFO) and Pseudo-second order (PSO) models, while equilibrium was modelled using Langmuir, Freundlich, Toth and Redlich Peterson isotherms. Adsorption mechanism was analyzed applying Boyd and intraparticle diffusion models. The parameters of each one of the models were calculated using Minitab17® by non-linear regression. Piecewise linear regression was applied to calculate the parameters of Boyd and intraparticle diffusion models. Phenol adsorption onto activated carbons is describe better by Langmuir isotherm and PSO kinetic model. Maximum adsorption capacity was between 30 and 40 mg.g-1.