Coal-based activated carbon is an ideal adsorbent for
concentrating
CH4 from coalbed methane and recovering CO2 from
industrial waste gas. In order to upgrade the environmentally protective
preparation technology of coal-based activated carbons and clarify
the adsorption equilibrium and diffusion rules of CH4,
CO2, and N2 in these materials, we prepared
granular activated carbon (GAC) via air oxidation, carbonization,
and physical activation using anthracite as the raw material. Also,
we measured the adsorption isotherms and adsorption kinetic data of
GAC by the gravimetric method and characterized its surface chemical
properties. According to the results, GAC had abundant micropore structures
with a pore size mainly in the range of 5.0–10.0 Å, and
its surface was covered with plentiful oxygen-containing functional
groups. The specific pore structure and surface chemical properties
could effectively improve the separation and purification effects
of GAC on CH4 and CO2. In the temperature range
of 278–318 K, the equilibrium separation of CH4/N2 by GAC with a coefficient between 3 and 4 could be achieved.
Also, the CO2/CH4 separation coefficient decreased
with the increase in temperature but remained around 3. The bivariate
Langmuir equation could describe the adsorption behaviors of GAC on
CH4/N2, CO2/N2, and CH4/CO2. With the increase in the concentrations of
CH4 and CO2 in the gas phase, the difference
between the adsorption capacity of CH4 or CO2 and that of N2 became greater. The change of the gas
ratio did not affect the characteristics of preferential adsorption
of CH4 and CO2. At different temperatures (278,
298, and 318 K), the diffusion coefficients of CH4, N2, and CO2 at various pressure points showed predominately
a small variation without an obvious trend. These results demonstrated
that the separation of CH4/N2, CO2/N2, and CH4/CO2 by the activated
carbon could only rely on the equilibrium separation effect rather
than the kinetic effect.