One-Step Preparation of Activated Carbon for Coal Bed Methane Separation/Storage and Its Methane Adsorption Characteristics

Different coals were used as raw material for the preparation of carbonization precursors and coal-based activated carbons. The physicochemical structure and adsorption performance of the samples were tested. Results show that the carbonization and activation process greatly changed the molecular structure of raw coal, and a large number of organic functional groups disappeared. The carbonization process has enriched the pore structure of coal by thermal ablation, and it has a pore expansion effect on all the pores in coal, while the activation process is more conducive to micropore generation. The calculated mean isosteric heat of adsorption showed that the activated carbon needs to release more heat in the adsorption process as the same equilibrium pressure increased due to the adsorption capacity of the prepared activated carbon being far more than that of the raw coal. Adsorption processes of activated carbons are more sensitive to temperature changes, providing a certain guiding significance for the temperature swing adsorption and pressure swing adsorption.