Preparation and characterization of polyurethane foam/activated carbon composite adsorbents

A polyurethane foam (PU)/activated carbon (AC) composite was prepared by adding granular AC during the synthesis of PU foam, and subsequent carbonization. Nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms and scanning electron microscopy were used to ascertain the pore structure and surface morphology of the samples. The prepared composite foams possess well-developed open cell structures. Under the conditions investigated, a higher carbonization temperature promoted development of porous structures. Thermogravimetric and derivative thermogravimetric analyses revealed the thermostability of the PU foam precursor/AC composites. The adsorption performance of the composites was evaluated using phenol, iodine and methylene blue (MB) as model compounds. A PU foam/AC composite with a maximum specific surface area of 655.0 m(2)/g, maximum iodine number of 525.2 mg/g, and maximum adsorption capacity of MB and phenol of 100 and 66.5 mg/g, respectively, was achieved.