Activated carbon fibers from recycled acrylic and cotton for carbon dioxide capture

Abstract

In this study, activated carbon fibers (ACFs) were produced from mechanically recycled acrylic (PAN) and cotton (CO) fibers and their blend (PAN/CO) in felt form as an adsorbent for carbon dioxide capture. For this purpose, stabilization, carbonization, and chemical activation processes were applied consecutively. The effects of recycled fiber type, carbonization temperature, and activation agent impregnation ratio were investigated. The resultant ACFs were characterized by elemental analysis, SEM, FTIR, XPS, and BET analyses, and carbon dioxide adsorption capacity was tested. It was observed that the fibrous structure of all samples was preserved at all stages, although the fiber diameters were reduced. The maximum quantity of adsorbed CO2 was found to be 3.79, 3.47, and 3.28 mmol CO2/g for recycled PAN, CO, and PAN/CO based samples, respectively, at 298 K at a relative pressure of 0.989. It was conducted that the carbon dioxide adsorption performance was affected by both the ACF surface area and the nitrogen content in the structure. It was concluded that recycled fiber‐based ACFs as CO2 adsorbents could be successfully produced with reasonable adsorption performance as a sustainable alternative.Highlights Activated carbon fibers were produced from recycled acrylic and cotton fibers Fibrous structure was preserved, but fiber diameters decreased Reasonable carbon dioxide adsorption capacity was attained Recycled fiber‐based ACFs could be a sustainable alternative to CO2 adsorbents