(632d) Nanoporous Carbon from Corn Cobs for Methane Storage

In the Midwest there is a huge supply of waste corncobs. Corn cob can be an excellent starting material to produce nanoporous carbon for methane storage because of its botanical origin. Chemical activation using phosphoric acid or steam pyrolysis of the corn cob could lead to carbon having surface area ranging from 600-2000 m2/g. The activated carbon could be further converted to monolithic form which would considerable enhance its methane uptake capacity for a given volume. Monolithic form of activated carbon has an outstanding potential for higher methane storing capacity of about 150 v/v at pressures low up to 500Psi.

Dried, crushed, corncobs were carbonized at 450¢ªC and chemically activated using H3PO4. The activated carbon was pressed using a hydraulic press to get monoliths. The products were characterized by N2 adsorption at 77K, using BET method. Adsorption capacity was demonstrated by the isotherms of methane.