Preparation of activated carbon cloths from viscous rayon.: Part I.: Carbonization procedures

Viscose rayon cloth was carbonized under a wide range of experimental conditions, including heating rate, isothermal stage near the temperature of decomposition, and preoxidation in air. Slower carbonization rates produce increases in yield, strength and micropore volume of the char, lower reactivity against gasification, and micropores with narrower entrances. The inclusion of an isothermal stage at temperatures near the beginning of the pyrolytic decomposition leads to a lower presence of constrictions in the char. Preoxidation with air produces an increase in carbonization yield and in breaking load; the presence of oxygen surface groups in the char are responsible for its higher reactivity to gasification. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.