Activated Carbon Composites for Air Separation

Abstract

Coal-derived synthesis gas is a potential major source of hydrogen for fuel cells. Oxygen-blown coal gasification is an efficient approach to achieving the goal of producing hydrogen from coal, but a cost-effective means of enriching O2 concentration in air is required. A key objective of this project is to assess the utility of a system that exploits porous carbon materials and electrical swing adsorption to produce an O2-enriched air stream for coal gasification. As a complement to O2 and N2 adsorption measurements, CO2 was used as a more sensitive probe molecule for the characterization of molecular sieving effects. To further enhance the potential of activated carbon composite materials for air separation, work was implemented on incorporating a novel twist into the system; namely the addition of a magnetic field to influence O2 adsorption, which is accompanied by a transition between the paramagnetic and diamagnetic states. The preliminary findings in this respect are discussed.