Activated carbon for gas separation and storage

Activated carbons offer a large spectrum of pore structures and surface chemistry for adsorption of gases, which are being used to design practical pressure swing and thermal swing adsorption processes for separation and purification of gas mixtures. The activated carbons are often preferred over the zeolitic adsorbents in a gas separation process because of their relatively moderate strengths of adsorption for gases, which facilitate the desorption process. Three commercial applications of activated carbons, (a) trace impurity removal from a contaminated gas, (b) production of hydrogen from a steam-methane reformer off gas, and (c) production of nitrogen from air, are reviewed. Four novel applications of activated carbons for gas separation and purification are also described. They include, (a) separation of hydrogen-hydrocarbon mixtures by selective surface flow of larger hydrocarbon molecules through a nanoporous carbon membrane produced by carbonization of a polymer matrix, (b) gas drying by pressure swing adsorption using a water selective microporous carbon adsorbent produced by surface oxidation of a hydrophobic carbon, (c) removal by selective adsorption and in-situ oxidation of trace volatile organic compounds from air by using a carbon adsorbent-catalyst composite, and (d) storage of compressed natural gas on high surface area carbons.