In this work, the asphaltenes from natural Indonesia asphalt rocks were taken as raw materials for the preparation of micromesoporous enriched carbon material through pyrolysis (<500 °C) and KOH activation (<900 °C) processes. It is found that, during the pyrolysis process, the asphaltenes could be converted to noncondensable gas (36.02%), pyrolytic tar (26.57%), and residual char (37.44%). When the char was mixed together with KOH for heating, more carbons would be released due to the activation reaction, forming a carbon network. The optimal activation conditions were obtained at KOH/char ratio of 3:1 and 800 °C for 30 min. Results also show that almost all of the nitrogen atoms stay in the solid carbon during heating with little releasing to the gas or liquid products. The final obtained porous carbon materials are determined to possess a specific surface area of 1735 m2/g with rich micropores (∼2.0 nm). Instrumental characterizations show that there are abundant heteroatomic groups, including SO, OH, and N, on the activated carbon surface. Further tests by adsorption indicate that the adsorption of methylene blue on the porous carbon material is monolayer adsorption. The maximal adsorption capacity is determined to be at 556.00 mg/g, much higher than that of some commercial activated carbons. It is also indicated that the adsorption kinetics follows the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. These findings suggest that the asphaltene derived carbon material would be promising efficient adsorbents. It also sheds lights on the resourcilization of asphaltenes.

The adsorption-desorption combined process has been considered as a promising method for the industrial VOCs (volatile organic compounds) treatment. Herein, a carbon-silicon composite adsorbent material has been prepared for the removal of VOCs at lower potential flammable risk. The preparation involves two main steps: Extrusion forming and thermal treatment. The carboxymethyl cellulose and silicate were adopted as binder and fire retardant respectively. The molding and inflaming retarding mechanisms were proposed and discussed. Results show that the newly prepared doping combined material is micro-mesoporous with a specific surface area of 729 m2/g. The maximum adsorption capacity of carbon-silicon doping combined material to p-xylene is observed to be 292 mg/g. The adsorption is found to be favorable, which is well described by the Yoon-Nelson model and Freundlich isotherm. The combined material is also found to possess reversible adsorption to p-xylene; without sacrificing (<2%) too much adsorption capacity after five adsorption-desorption cycles. The composite materials have an increased ignition temperature of at least 40 °C compared with raw carbon material. These findings suggest that the obtained composite material possesses good adsorption capacity and flame-retardant properties.