US 8,709,972 B2Granted

Methods of forming activated carbons

AssigneeNanoCarbons LLC

InventorsRudyard Lyle Istvan, Stephen M. Lipka, Christopher Ray Swartz

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

Enhanced methods for preparing activated carbons have been discovered. In order to form an activated carbon, a carbon precursor material is coated with a phosphorus based chemical solution and physically activated. An activated carbon may also be formed by coating a green carbon precursor with a chemical solution that chemically reacts with carbon, carbonizing the resulting material, and physically activating the material during at least a portion of the carbonizing step. An activated carbon may also be formed by milling a carbon material to a predetermined particle size, then activating the milled particles. In another enhancement, an activated carbon is formed by coating a carbon or carbon precursor with nanoparticles, carbonizing if the carbon is a carbon precursor, then catalytically activating in air and an inert gas, and physically activating in steam or carbon dioxide. An activated carbon may also be formed by physically activating a previously chemically activated carbon.

Claims27

Dependent claims

A method of forming an activated carbon:

providing a carbon material which is either a carbon or a carbon precursor, wherein the carbon material is a fiber having a diameter that has a value in the range from about 7 microns to 20 microns;
coating the carbon material with nanoparticles;
if the carbon material is a carbon precursor, then the following processes are performed subsequent to the coating the carbon material with nanoparticles:
carbonizing the carbon material to form a carbonized material;
catalytically activating the carbonized material in air and an inert gas to form a catalytically activated carbon;
wherein the mass of the catalytically activated carbon is lower than the mass of the carbon material;
and
activating the catalytically activated carbon in steam or carbon dioxide to form an activated carbon;
wherein the mass of the activated carbon is lower than the mass of the catalytically activated carbon and wherein the activated carbon is mesoporous;
and
if the carbon material is not a carbon precursor, then the following processes are performed subsequent to the coating the carbon material with nanoparticles:
catalytically activating the carbon material in air and an inert gas to form a catalytically activated carbon;
wherein the mass of the catalytically activated carbon is lower than the mass of the carbon material;
and
activating the catalytically activated carbon in steam or carbon dioxide to form an activated carbon;
wherein the mass of the activated carbon is lower than the mass of the catalytically activated carbon and wherein the activated carbon is mesoporous.

13 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 12/070,062Filed 14 Feb 2008 · us provisional application
Priority: 14 Feb 2007
Published: US 2008/0254972 A116 Oct 2008
Granted: 29 Apr 2014
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification14 codes

H01M 8/0234
Porous and characterised by the material: carbonaceous material
C01B 32/336
Preparation: characterised by gaseous activating agents
H01G 11/22
Hybrid capacitors, i.e. capacitors having different positive and negative electrodes; Electric double-layer [EDL] capacitors; Processes for the…:…
H01G 11/34
Carbon-based: characterised by carbonisation or activation of carbon

Family

Application60/901,850Us provisional application · filed 14 Feb 2007
Application60/961,432Us provisional application · filed 20 Jul 2007
Application60/961,320Us provisional application · filed 20 Jul 2007
Application61/005,587Us provisional application · filed 6 Dec 2007
US 2008/0254972 A1Pre-grant publication · published 16 Oct 2008
US 8,709,972 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.