Applications for activated carbons from waste tires: natural gas storage and air pollution control

Natural gas storage for natural gas vehicles and the separation and removal of gaseous contaminants from gas streams represent two emerging applications for carbon adsorbents. A possible precursor for such adsorbents is waste tires. In this study, activated carbon has been developed from waste tires and tested for its methane storage capacity and S0₂ removal from a simulated flue-gas. Tire-derived carbons exhibit methane adsorption capacities (g/g) within 10% of a relatively expensive commercial activated carbon; however, their methane storage capacities ($\text{V}{}_{\mathrm{m}}\text{V}{}_{\mathrm{s}}$) are almost 60% lower. The unactivated tire char exhibits SO₂ adsorption kinetics similar to a commercial carbon used for flue-gas clean-up.