The common and established two-step carbonization technology for obtaining activated carbonaceous material does not produce such valuable material in high yield. Hence, one of the directions for improving its manufacturing technology is working out protocols to unify the carbonization and activation processes. The present study aims to show the development of a combined, single-stage, highly efficient, ecologically and economically profitable technology and determine the area of the usage of the obtained product.
The procedure is based on an invention that provides sorbents with a highly developed surface, as a result of the introduction of a cheap reagent into the process of thermochemical conversion of plastics and cellulose-containing waste (National Intellectual Property Center of Georgia - "Sakpatenti" under the patent: P 2021 7309 B).
A wide range of raw materials (hazelnut and walnut shells, nectarine and peach kernels, wood sawdust, etc.) can be directly loaded into the reactor without pretreatment. It is then inflated with inert gas and processed in an oxygen-free area. The temperature in the reactor rises at a pre-selected, defined speed until the final temperature is reached; simultaneously, steamed water is supplied at a certain (ml/h) rate.
The reactor is equipped with an automatized device so the process can be carried out in adjustable modes (temperature, reagent supply rate, reactor heating rate, etc.).
This technology allows the realization of three products, carbonaceous material, liquid phase (generated from the initial material and a certain amount of unprocessed reagent), and gaseous substances in the form of flammable gases that can serve as an energy source for the progression or reaction when cycled back into the process.
The quality requirements for activated carbonaceous material, depending on the purpose of the target product (medicine, water/air purifier, etc.), can be determined by varying the set of desirable major parameters for the reactor.
This work was supported by Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia, grant number FR21- 12546
