Fast preparation of activated carbon from oil sands coke using microwave-assisted activation

Oil sands coke can be a suitable precursor for activated carbon based on its high carbonaceous content. This paper presents the results of a novel method that uses microwave heating, KOH, and humidified nitrogen to activate oil sands coke in a short duration. Compared to the raw coke, both delayed and fluid cokes had larger surface areas and higher adsorption capacities after 10 min of microwave-assisted activation. Compared to activated fluid coke, activated delayed coke had a higher iodine number (1129 mg/g vs. 517 mg/g), specific surface area (1131 m(2)/g vs. 440 m(2)/g), and larger total pore volume (0.4795 cm(3)/g vs. 0.2247 cm(3)/g) and micropore volume (0.4224 cm(3)/g vs. 0.1405 cm(3)/g) because of the structural difference between the two cokes. The activated coke was able to effectively adsorb water vapor and acetone. The short activation time and simplicity of the activation process demonstrate that microwave-assisted activation is a promising method to convert the oil sands coke into a useful adsorbent with high adsorption capacity. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.