Experimental measurements and computer simulation of methane adsorption on activated carbon fibers

Three activated carbon fibers (ACFs) with different BET specific surface areas (SSAs) were prepared. Experimental characterization and methane adsorption on the ACFs were measured by the intelligent gravimetric analyzer (IGA-003, Hiden) at 258 and 298 K. Correlations proposed between the methane adsorption capacity and SSA indicate that the SSA plays an important role on storage amount at a given temperature. A detailed experimental investigation was focused on the sample ACF3 of the highest SSF of 1511 m²/g at five temperatures, from 258 to 298 K. The temperature dependence for methane adsorption amount on ACF3 at 1.8 MPa is proposed. It shows that temperature is vital to methane storage capacity for ACF3, and adsorption storage at the temperatures below 280 K is recommended for favorite uptakes. To model ACF3, the pores are described as slit-shaped with a pore size distribution that was determined by molecular simulation and the statistics integral equation. Predictions of methane adsorption, carried out at 258 and 298 K and high pressures by molecular simulation, indicate that our sample ACF3 can reach the uptake of 14.99 wt% at 4.0 MPa and 298 K, which is comparable with the best result in the literature.