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Title Upgrading Waste Activated Carbon by Equipping Micro-/Mesopore-Dominant Microstructures from the Perspective of Circular Economy
ID_Doc 1781
Authors Wang, TH; Chen, CC; Xu, RX; Chen, CW; Dong, CD
Title Upgrading Waste Activated Carbon by Equipping Micro-/Mesopore-Dominant Microstructures from the Perspective of Circular Economy
Year 2022
Published Processes, 10, 8
DOI 10.3390/pr10081631
Abstract Equipping wastes with interesting properties in response to the circular economy could release environmental burdens by reducing resource exploitation and material manufacturing. In this study, we demonstrated that the waste regenerated activated carbon (RAC) could become micro/mesopore-dominant through a simple surfactant/gel modification. This was achieved by associating carbon precursors, such as commercially available low-cost surfactants/methyl cellulose thickening reagents, with the pores of RAC. Following heat treatment, associated carbon precursors were carbonized, hence modifying the microstructure of RAC to be micro-/mesopore-dominant. The surfactant modification gave rise to a micropore-dominant RAC by increasing the micropore volume (PVmicro) together with significantly decreasing the mesopore volume (PVmeso) and macropore volume (PVmacro). In contrast, gel modification led to mesopore-rich RAC by blocking micropores with carbonized methyl cellulose and a surfactant matrix. Interestingly, both surfactant/gel modifications were insensitive to the properties of the surfactant applied, which provided a new alternative for waste/low-grade surfactant mixture disposal. Our results provide an important demonstration that waste could be effectively upgraded with a rational design by exhibiting new properties in response to the circular economy.
Author Keywords activated carbon; circular economy; microstructure; surfactants
Index Keywords Index Keywords
Document Type Other
Open Access Open Access
Source Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED)
EID WOS:000845803500001
WoS Category Engineering, Chemical
Research Area Engineering
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