INTRODUCTIONThe ANG has been known as a modern technology in which natural gas is adsorbed by porous materials at relatively low pressures around 3.5 MPa and at room temperature. Once a good medium with sufficient working capacity is developed, ANG will be competitive technically and economically comparing with the conventional storage methods such as LNG and CNG. In order to make this ANG as a competitive commercial technology, the DOE had set a storage target of 180 V/V at 3.5 MPa and 298 K in 2000 and modified this target up to more than 220 V/V that is the maximum achievable capacity based on carbon-based materials [1,2]. Volumetric storage capacities for methane (a major constituent of natural gas) have been reported in the range from 150 to 200 V/V from bench-scale experiments but there is no information regarding the practical application of ANG technology. Methane adsorption on carbon materials has a rich history. ACs are excellent adsorbent materials for methane storage and expected to possess high surface area and proper pore size distribution. The ACs have been produced from various Narandalai et al. Mong. J. Chem., 18 (44), 2017, 24-35 https://doi.org/10.5564/mjc.v18i44.934 Influence of compressing pressure on macro void formation of carbon monolith for methane adsorption
ABSTRACTCarbon monoliths for adsorbed natural gas (ANG) storage were prepared from Mongolian anthracite-based activated carbons using carboxy-methyl cellulose as a binder under different compressing pressures. Nitrogen adsorption/desorption experiments were carried out to obtain the specific surface area, pore volume, and pore size distribution of the monoliths.Methane adsorption experiments on the carbon monoliths were conducted at different temperatures and pressures up to around 3.5 MPa in a high pressure volumetric adsorption apparatus. As expected, adsorption results indicated that the methane adsorption capacity of the carbon monoliths increased with increasing specific surface area and packing density.The maximum volumetric adsorption of methane was observed as 163 V/V at 293 K and 3.5 MPa on a carbon monolith sample, PMAC1/2-3-65, that does not have the highest specific surface area but relatively high packing density comparing with other monoliths, which implies that two physical properties contribute contradictorily to the methane adsorption capacity. Based on experimental results, the carbon monoliths prepared from Mongolian anthracite-based activated carbons can be promising media for ANG storage application.