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Design of new materials for environmental control
Author(s) -
Economy James,
Mangun Chris
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
macromolecular symposia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.257
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1521-3900
pISSN - 1022-1360
DOI - 10.1002/masy.19991430108
Subject(s) - activated carbon , adsorption , coating , abrasion (mechanical) , chemical engineering , materials science , carbon fibers , nanotechnology , chemistry , composite material , organic chemistry , engineering , composite number
During the past several years we have pursued a program here at UIUC to tailor the pore size and surface chemistry of activated carbon fibers (ACFs) to greatly increase their efficiency and selectivity for removal of trace contaminants from the environment. In addition we have evolved new ways of preparing the ACFs to sharply reduce their cost (typically ∼$100/lb) to be more competitive with activated carbon granules ($1‐2/lb), but also to greatly improve the abrasion resistance of the fibers. This was accomplished by coating glass fibers with a phenolic resin and then activating the coating under a controlled atmosphere to produce a variety of tailored micropores. Using chemically tailored ACFs, we describe major improvements over current activated carbons for adsorption of environmental contaminants.