Comparison between carbonization of wood charcoal with Al-triisopropoxide and alumina

Abstract A comparison was made between the catalytic carbonization of biomass carbon suspended in Al-triisopropoxide and in biomass carbon mixed with 40 μm sized Al 2 O 3 particles. Both types of samples were plasma sintered during 5 min under an argon pressure of 50 MPa at temperatures up to 2200 °C. Plate-like catalytic graphitization develops by formation and dissociation of plate-like Al 4 C 3 . Plasma sintering under the proper CO partial pressure and heat treatment temperature is instrumental in forcing the Al 2 O 3 to react with the carbon, forming first Al 4 C 3 and subsequently graphite. The difference between Al-triisopropoxide and Al 2 O 3 is a matter of intensity of the graphite reaction versus the size of the graphite patches.