Composite Carbon Foams as an Alternative to the Conventional Biomass-Derived Activated Carbon in Catalytic Application

Abstract

The suitability of a new type of polyurethane-based composite carbon foam for several possible usages is evaluated and reported. A comparison of the properties of the as-prepared carbon foams was performed with widely available commercial biomass-derived activated carbon. Carbon foams were synthesized from polyurethane foams with different graphite contents through one-step activation using CO2. In this work, a carbon catalyst was synthesized with a moderately active surface (SBET = 554 m2/g), a thermal conductivity of 0.09 W/mK, and a minimum metal ion content of 0.2 wt%, which can be recommended for phosgene production. The composite carbon foams exhibited better thermal stability, as there is a very little weight loss at temperatures below 500 °C, and weight loss is slower at temperatures above 500 °C (phosgene synthesis: 550–700 °C). Owing to the good surface and thermal properties and the negligible metallic impurities, composite carbon foam produced from polyurethane foams are the best alternative to the conventional coconut-based activated carbon catalyst used in phosgene gas production.

Hierarchical porous carbon foam electrodes fabricated from waste polyurethane elastomer template for electric double-layer capacitors

“…S4 online. The metallic impurities of CFs were between 15–110 ppm, which is 25–40 times smaller than the metallic impurities (Ca, Si, Mg, Fe, Al, Mn, Ba, Sr) of commercial biomass-derived AC 48 .…”