Computer synthesis of char and its characterization

A mimetic method based on Monte Carlo simulation is proposed to generate a molecular model of char. This char model consists of crystalline and amorphous phases, which are heated and cooled during the simulation of the carbonization process. Resultant char shows irregular shape and interconnected pores whose properties depend on the percentage of non-organized carbon and the carbonization temperature. These chars were characterized with Monte Carlo integration techniques to obtain the pore size distribution, pore volume, solid density and surface area. These were then compared with the experimental data of two chars, longan seed derived char and coconut shell derived char. The results show that the molecular model captures the trend of the properties with carbonization temperature for both experimental chars.