Continuous Production of Carbon Foam from Carbon Ore

Abstract

Since the discovery of coal-derived carbon foam materials, there has been a significant increase in the adoption of these materials in high-value applications, particularly within the aerospace industry. Coal-derived carbon foam materials offer exceptional thermal and mechanical properties, positioning them as an optimal choice for high-volume applications such as building and construction. Yet, their broader adoption in such applications is hindered by the limitations of the current batch or semi-continuous processing techniques. This research introduces an innovative method for continuous production of carbon foam materials using a direct extrusion process. Bituminous coals (Pittsburgh No 8 and White Forest) were continuously extruded at varying feed rates, temperatures, and extrusion speeds to produce a carbon foam material. The resultant green foams were characterized via thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), ultimate/proximate analysis, and optical microscopy. This study not only successfully demonstrated the extrudability of plasticized coal using a commercial bench-scale extrusion system but also revealed that their performance is expected to be comparable to that of batch-processed coal-derived carbon foam materials.