Effect of oxidation pre-treatment at 220 to 270 °C on the carbonization and activation behavior of phenolic resin fiber

The effect of oxidation pre-treatment of a phenolic resin fiber was examined from two aspects: one is to examine if the pre-treatment can be a means to increase the yield of carbon fiber and activated carbon fiber (ACF), and the other is to study the effect of the pre-treatment on the carbonization and activation behavior. A phenolic resin fiber was oxidized in air at 220 to 270 °C and it was subsequently carbonized at 900 °C and activated by steam at 900 °C. The oxidation was found to affect significantly the subsequent carbonization process in the way that the yield of the carbonized fiber increased with the severity of the oxidation. On the other hand, the oxidation was found not to affect the chemical and physical properties of the carbonized fiber. The ACF produced from the oxidized fiber had almost same pore structure as the ACF produced from the non-treated fiber when compared at a same activation level. The maximum yield of ACF produced from the oxidized fiber was 1.13 times larger than the yield of ACF produced from the non-treated fiber. Thus we could increase the production yield of ACF significantly without losing its high adsorption performance.