Influence of torrefaction on properties of activated carbon obtained from physical activation of pyrolysis char

ABSTRACT

In this paper, the method of ‘torrefaction–fast pyrolysis–physical activation’ was conducted to investigate the impact of torrefaction on the properties of activated carbon through CO₂ activation. It was found that torrefaction had a significantly positive influence on the quality of activated carbon and 280°C was the optimal torrefaction temperature. The activated carbon obtained under the recommended condition had a higher yield (13.0 ± 0.3% based on dried rice husk) and most developed pore structure (specific surface area of 1090.7 m²/g). The results may be helpful for the potential utilization of high ash content biomass like rice husk.

KEYWORDS:

• Rice husk
• torrefaction
• pyrolysis char
• activated carbon
• physical activation

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful for the financial support from the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2242016K41041), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51376047) and National Science and Technology Supporting Plan of China (No. 2014BAA05B01).

Supplementary material

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