Impact of Production Pathway on Nanoporosity of Carbonaceous Sorbents for CO₂ Adsorption

Climate change requires immediate action from humanity with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) standing out as one of the prominent mitigation techniques. Adsorption CCS using carbonaceous nanoporous sorbents has been shown to be a promising route for industrial decarbonization. Such sorbents are often derived from organic waste, with the production pathway consisting of different steps, namely, carbonization, pelletization (with various binders) and activation. The latter two steps, however, could vary in their order, i.e. activation of the pellet versus the pelletization of the activated powder. Herein, both of these approaches have been conducted and the impact of the production pathway (as well as the presence of the binder itself) on the nano-structure of the material has been examined and compared to the "baseline-case" of the non-activated carbon (both powder and pellet). The samples were analyzed via Proximate Analysis, Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy. CO2 adsorption was evaluated via Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). Further, the mechanical properties of the nanoporous pellets were studied.