Activated carbon fibers from meltblown isotropic pitch fiber webs for vapor phase adsorption of volatile organic compounds

Activated carbon fibers (ACFs) webs with potentially lower cost and high adsorption performance are fabricated from isotropic pitch by meltblowing process, stabilization in air, carbonization in N-2 and activation in CO2/H2O. The stabilization and activation conditions are studied and evaluated to prepare ACFs with high carbon yields and high surface area. The prepared ACFs are typical microporous adsorbents having a specific surface area of 1000-2000 m(2)/g and a corresponding change in pore volume and pore size distribution. The selected ACF with a surface area of 1985 m2/g has strong adsorption affinity for chloroform vapor and is superior to the commercial product Kynol (R) ACF-15 textile in terms of adsorption amount and adsorption rate due to its high specific surface area and fiber web form. Vapor phase adsorption of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in a Thermogravimetric Analyzer demonstrates that this ACF can effectively remove different VOCs from air.