Preparation of hydrogen storage carbon materials using bio-oil heavy components as carbon-containing precursor

A new method for preparing carbon materials using bio-oil heavy components has been proposed and their hydrogen capacity at low temperature was explored. The effects of different templates and mass ratio of template to bio-oil on specific surface area, pore size distribution and yield of carbon materials were studied. The thermal decomposition pathway of calcium citrate was proposed. Carbon materials prepared by calcium citrate have larger specific surface area (1688 m(2) g(-1)), more uniform pore size distribution and higher yield (17.76%). The specific surface area and the microporosity first increased and then decreased with increasing mass ratio of template to bio-oil, and reached the maximum value when the mass ratio was 1:1. The yield of carbon materials increased with increasing mass ratio. Hydrogen adsorption capacity (0.73-1.80 wt%) of carbon materials increased along with the increase of specific surface area and microporosity. Furthermore, the interaction between carbon and hydrogen molecules is strong, as shown by the isosteric heat of adsorption of between 6.13 and 10.56 kJ/mol. This paper provides an economical and environmental-friendly method for the preparation of hydrocarbon storage materials, and also a new idea for the utilization of bio-oil heavy components.