Effects of Foaming Condition on the Performance of Bituminous Coal-derived Carbon Foams

Carbon foams were prepared using a medium rank bituminous coal in this paper. The influence of foaming temperature, foaming pressure and time of releasing pressure on open porosity, bulk density and pore morphology of carbon foam were discussed, respectively. The bulk density and true density were tested. The texture of the carbon foams was characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The results show that the pores diameter of carbon foam derived from coal is more uniform, which is in range of 100 mu m-200 mu m. Nevertheless, there are a spot of irregular large holes. Foaming temperature is key fact and the suitable foaming temperature must be near to the maximum fluidity temperature of coal. With the foaming pressure increasing, the open porosity reduces, the bulk density increases and the pores diameter gets smaller and more regular.