Production & characterization of activated carbon membranes

The objective of this work was the production and characterization of ultrafiltration membranes composed of micropores activated carbon (AC) saturated with a solvent, in epoxy resin matrix. In order to produce these composite membranes with a desired final porosity of 60%, national grade micropores powder AC with different particle size distribution was used. The AC and the composite activated carbon membranes (CACMs) were characterized for their thermal stability, chemical composition, specific surface area, and porosity. The results indicate that AC has a high specific surface area; the apparent porosity of the CACMs is in the range of 50%-58% with thermal stability up to 370 C, in which the decomposition of the organic constituents started. Composition and structure of the CACMs were found to be almost of the epoxy resin and AC with the absence of the solvent. It can be concluded that the CACMs developed in this work can be satisfactorily used in applications of ultrafiltration. © 2012 Elsevier Editora Ltda. and Brazilian Metallurgical, Materials and Mining Association.