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US 6,656,239 B1Granted
Blended pitch/coal based carbon foams
AssigneeTouchstone Research Lab.
InventorsDarren Kenneth Rogers, Janusz Wladyslaw Plucinski
Life of this patent
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Abstract
According to the present invention, carbon foams are produced largely in accordance with the methods described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/902,828, but with starting materials that comprise from about 10 to about 90% by weight of ground petroleum pitch and from about 90 to about 10% by weight of bituminous coal particulate exhibiting a free swell index of from about 3.5 to about 5.0.
Claims33
A semi-crystalline, largely isotropic, carbon foam produced from a blend comprising:
- 1) from about 10 to about 90 weight percent of a particulate high volatile bituminous coal that exhibits a free swell index of between about 3.5 and about 5.0;
- and 2) from about 90 to about 10 weight percent of a petroleum pitch particulate, said carbon foam having a density of between about 0.1 and about 0.6 g/cm3.
A method for producing a carbon foam from a blend comprising:
- 1) from about 10 to about 90 weight percent of a high volatile bituminous coal particulate that exhibits a free swell index of between about 3.5 and about 5.0;
- and 2) from about 90 to about 10 weight percent of a petroleum pitch having a softening temperature between about 50 and about 300° C., comprising:
- A) blending fine particulate of said high volatile bituminous coal and fine particulate of said petroleum pitch to form a green blend;
- B) heating said green blend at a temperature and for a period of time adequate to achieve encapsulation of said particulate coal in said petroleum pitch to form an encapsulated coal particulate;
- C) heating said encapsulated coal particulate in a 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 said carbon foam;
- and
- D) controllably cooling said carbon foam.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.