Natural Gas Storage in Microporous carbons obtained from waste of the olive oil Production

C. SOLAR, F. SARDELLA, C. DEIANA, R. M. LAGO, A. VALLONE, K. SAPAG

MATERIALS RESEARCH

Sociedad Brasileira de Materiales

Lugar: Sao paulo; Año: 2008 vol. 1 p. 409 - 414

1516-1439

A series of activated carbons (AC) were prepared from waste of the olive oil production in the Cuyo Region, Argentine by two standard methods: a) physical activation by steam and b) chemical activation with ZnCl2. The AC samples were characterized by nitrogen adsorption at 77 K and evaluated for natural gas storage purposes through the adsorption of methane at high pressures. The activated carbons showed micropore volumes up to 0.50 cm3.g–1 and total pore volumes as high as 0.9 cm3.g–1. The BET surface areas reached, in some cases, more than 1000 m2.g–1. The methane adsorption -measured in the range of 1-35 bar- attained values up to 59 VCH4/VAC and total uptakes of more than 120 cm3.g–1 (STP). These preliminary results suggest that Cuyo’s olive oil waste is appropriate for obtaining activated carbons for the storage of natural gas.