Molecular sieve properties obtained by cracking of methane on activated carbon fibers

Molecular sieve properties of activated carbon fibers modified by cracking treatment with methane are studied herein. The effect of methane treatment on the porous texture of the samples has been studied while varying temperature and time. These materials have been evaluated for their selectivity during CO2 and CH4 separation: their uptakes have been compared with non-treated activated carbon fibers (,studied previously), which were considered suitable to be used as molecular sieves, Kinetics of CO2 and CH4 uptake have also been investigated in this research. The treatment produced materials exhibiting fast kinetics and high selectivity during CO2 and CH4 separation: at the same time however, the CO2 uptake capacity was diminished. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.