Preparation of activated carbon from bituminous coal with phosphoric acid activation

Activated carbons were prepared from an Australian bituminous coal in this study. The preparation process consisted of phosphoric acid impregnation followed by carbonization in nitrogen at 400–600°C for 1–3 hours. The results reveal that the surface area and pore volume of the resulting carbons increase with the chemical ratio, H3PO4/coal. Within the ranges of carbonization temperature and time, the chemically activated carbon prepared from carbonization at 500°C for 3 hours was found to have maximum surface area and pore volume values. Physical activation with CO2 of the initially H3PO4 activated carbon was examined and the results suggest that the combined activation is suitable for producing high porosity carbons with a high proportion of mesoporosity.