Tailoring carbon fibers for adsorbing volatiles

The paper describes the use of activated carbon fibres (ACFs) to absorb volatiles and the authors' research on AFCs. AFCs may be used as adsorbents to reduce air, surface water and ground water pollution. Various chemical treatments are used to change the surface area, pore geometry and adsorption characteristics of the ACFs. The effect of pore shape and surface area on adsorption characteristics is discussed. Research was also conducted into the activation of phenolic fibres at temperatures of 400-500[degree]C instead of 800[degree]C. This reduced the relatively large weight loss associated with high temperature activation (70-90% at 800[degree]C, 50% at 450[degree]C). 17 refs.,7 figs., 4 tabs.