Effect of Thermal Extraction on Coal-Based Activated Carbon for Methane Decomposition to Hydrogen

After coal is treated by thermal solution of solvent, a certain amount of thermal solution oil and residue can be obtained, and the macromolecular network structure in coal can also be relaxed. These will inevitably affect the emission of harmful gases and distribution of the pore structure when the residue is made into activated carbon (AC). In this paper, the effects of thermal solution pretreatment on the microcrystalline structure, surface properties, pore structure of resultant ACs at different temperatures, and their catalytic performances in methane decomposition to hydrogen were investigated. The results show that the surface oxygen-containing functional groups of the residue-based ACs are changed, and the specific area of ACs increases from 1730 to 2652 m 2 /g with the increase in activated temperature. The pore diameter distribution of ACs also is changed. In the process of methane decomposition to hydrogen, the residue-based ACs show higher catalytic activity than coal-based ACs. AC-1123-1 and AC-1123 show the best stability, while AC-823-1 has the highest initial activity. With the increase in activated temperature, residue-based ACs show higher activity and stability, and partial fibrous carbon is deposited on the surface of ACs after the reaction. It is thought that increased mesoporosity is beneficial to the catalytic activity and stability of AC in methane decomposition to hydrogen, and the reduction of surface oxygen-containing functional groups contribute to the formation of fibrous carbon on the surface of AC after the reaction.