Porous Biomass‐Derived Carbons: Activated Carbons

This chapter deals with the production of activated carbons with a highly developed microporosity from lignocellulosic biomass. Two different synthetic routes are covered: (i) carbonization followed by (or together with) chemical activation with H3PO4, ZnCl2, and KOH/NaOH, and (ii) hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of biomass followed by chemical activation with KOH/NaOH. The chapter focuses on some results obtained in a broad study carried out in the laboratories with several types of hydrochar products and different activation conditions. The examples selected for the chapter correspond to three types of hydrochar products obtained from saccharides (glucose and cellulose) and biomass (rye straw), which have been hydrothermally treated at the same temperature (240°C) and, afterwards, activated using KOH.