Coal-based carbon foam
AssigneeTouchstone Research Lab.
InventorsDarren Kenneth Rogers, Janusz Wladyslaw Plucinski
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for the manufacture of coal-based carbon foams from a coal particulate starting material that comprises blending from 1 to about 10% by weight of pitch with the coal particulate before foaming. Blends of coal-based particulate with 1 to about 10% by weight of pitch as well as coal-based carbon foams manufactured from such blends are also described.
Claims11
A semi-crystalline, largely isotropic, porous coal-based product having a density of between about 0.05 and about 0.1 g/cm3 and a thermal conductivity below about 1 W/m/° K produced from a blend comprising:
- A) from about 90 to about 99% by weight of particulate coal exhibiting a free swell index of between about 3.5 and about 5.0 and of a small diameter;
- and
- B) from about 1 to about 10% by weight of pitch.
A method for producing a porous coal-based product from coal exhibiting a free swell index of between about 3.5 and about 5.0 comprising:
- A) comminuting said coal to a small particle size to form a ground coal;
- B) blending said ground coal with from about 1 to about 10% by weight based upon the weight of the ground coal of a pitch;
- C) heating the product of step B to a temperature at or above the softening temperature of the pitch but below the sintering temperature of the ground coal to form a plastic coal/pitch mass;
- D) placing said coal/pitch mass in a mold;
- E) heating said coal/pitch mass in said mold under a non-oxidizing atmosphere to a temperature of between about 300° C. and about 700° C. and soaking at this temperature for a period of from about 10 minutes to about 12 hours to form a preform;
- and
- F) controllably cooling said preform.
A plastic coal particulate/pitch blend comprising from about 90 to about 99% by weight of particulate coal exhibiting a free swell index of between about 3.5 and about 5.0 and of a small diameter;
- and
- from about 1 to about 10% by weight of pitch.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.