Version 1
: Received: 24 July 2024 / Approved: 25 July 2024 / Online: 25 July 2024 (14:59:07 CEST)
How to cite:
Wu, C.; Ding, J.; Tindall, G. W.; Pittman, Z. A.; Thies, M. C.; Roberts, M. E. The Role of Lignin Molecular Weight on Activated Carbon Pore Structure. Preprints2024, 2024072062. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202407.2062.v1
Wu, C.; Ding, J.; Tindall, G. W.; Pittman, Z. A.; Thies, M. C.; Roberts, M. E. The Role of Lignin Molecular Weight on Activated Carbon Pore Structure. Preprints 2024, 2024072062. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202407.2062.v1
Wu, C.; Ding, J.; Tindall, G. W.; Pittman, Z. A.; Thies, M. C.; Roberts, M. E. The Role of Lignin Molecular Weight on Activated Carbon Pore Structure. Preprints2024, 2024072062. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202407.2062.v1
APA Style
Wu, C., Ding, J., Tindall, G. W., Pittman, Z. A., Thies, M. C., & Roberts, M. E. (2024). The Role of Lignin Molecular Weight on Activated Carbon Pore Structure. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202407.2062.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Wu, C., Mark C Thies and Mark E Roberts. 2024 "The Role of Lignin Molecular Weight on Activated Carbon Pore Structure" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202407.2062.v1
Abstract
Over the past decade, the production of biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass has steadily increased to offset the use of fuels from petroleum. To make biofuels cost-competitive, however, it is necessary to add value to the “ligno-” components (up to 30% by mass) of the biomass. The properties of lignin, in terms of molecular weight (MW), chemical functionality, and mineral impurities often vary from biomass source and biorefinery process, resulting in a challenging precursor for product development. Activated carbon (AC) is a feasible target for the lignin-rich byproduct streams because it can be made from nearly any biomass and it has a market capacity large enough to use much of the lignin generated from the biorefineries. However, it is not known how the variability in the lignin affects the key properties of AC, because until now, they could not be well controlled. In this work, various fractions of ultraclean (< 0.6 % ash) lignin are created with refined MW distributions using Aqueous Lignin Purification using Hot Agents (ALPHA) and used as precursors for AC. AC is synthesized via zinc chloride activation and characterized for pore structure and adsorption capacity. We show that AC surface area and the adsorption capacity increase when using lignin with increasing MW, and furthermore, that reducing the mineral content of lignin can significantly enhance the AC properties. The surface area of the AC from the highest MW lignin can reach ~1830 m2/g (absorption capacity). Furthermore, the single step activation carbonization using zinc chloride allows for minimal carbon burnoff (< 30%) capturing most of the lignin carbon compared to traditional burn off methods in biorefineries for heat generation.
Chemistry and Materials Science, Materials Science and Technology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
