Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of Activated Carbon Production Technologies in China: Comparative Analysis of Coal-Derived versus Biomass-Derived Pathways

In the context of increasingly stringent energy conservation and emission reduction (ECER) policies, developing environmentally sustainable production technologies for activated carbon (AC) has become a priority. This study conducted a multidimensional evaluation framework of five AC production technologies (i.e., two coal-derived and three biomass-derived activated carbons produced via physical or chemical activation) through integrated life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle cost (LCC), and energy efficiency analysis (EEA). The LCA results demonstrated that steam-activated kernel shell AC exhibited the lowest environmental impact, representing merely 13.28% of the impact associated with anthracite-derived AC production. In contrast, the application of H2SO4 and H3PO4 in biomass-derived AC activation significantly impacted SO2 and industrial water utilization (IWU) indicators. The LCC results revealed that straw-based AC exhibited the lowest economic cost, achieving a 68.65% reduction compared to anthracite-derived AC. To assess the potential of ECER, the EEA showed that recycling carbonization byproducts (wood gas, tar, and wood vinegar) enabled the biomass-derived AC production system to achieve 86.85% energy recovery efficiency. This approach significantly reduced external energy demand and its corresponding environmental impacts. Scenario modeling further revealed that implementing energy recovery and steam activation substitution reduced the ECER index by 45.31–67.19%, establishing an optimized pathway for sustainable AC production technologies.