Activated carbons (ACs) have been used as electrode materials of electric double-layer capacitors (EDLC) due to their high specific surface areas (SSA), stability, and ecological advantages. In order to make high-energy-density ACs for EDLC, petroleum pitch (PP) precarbonized at 500–1000°C in N2 gas for 1 h was used as the electrode material of the EDLC after KOH activation. As the pre-carbonization temperature increased, the SSA, pore volume and gravimetric capacitance tended to decrease, but the crystallinity and electrode density tended to increase, showing a maximum volumetric capacitance at a medium carbonization temperature. Therefore, it was possible to control the crystalline structure, SSA, and pore structure of AC by changing the pre-carbonization temperature. Because the electrode density increased with increasing of the pre-carbonization temperature, the highest volumetric capacitance of 28.4 F/cc was obtained from the PP pre-carbonized at 700°C, exhibiting a value over 150% of that of a commercial AC (MSP-20) for EDLC. Electrochemical activation was observed from the electrodes of PP as they were pre-carbonized at high temperatures above 700°C and then activated by KOH. This process was found to have a significant effect on the specific capacitance and it was demonstrated that the higher charging voltage of EDLC was, the greater the electrochemical activation effect was.

Activated carbon was prepared from pre-carbonized petroleum coke. Textural properties were determined from studies of the adsorption of nitrogen at 77 K and the surface chemistry was obtained using the Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer technique and the Boehm titration process. The adsorption of three aromatic compounds, namely phenol (P), p-nitrophenol (PNP) and benzoic acid (BA) onto APC in aqueous solution was studied in a batch system with respect to contact time, pH, initial concentration of solutes and temperature. Active carbon APC obtained was found to possess a high surface area and a predominantly microporous structure; it also had an acidic surface character. The experimental data fitted the pseudo-second-order kinetic model well; also, the intraparticle diffusion was the only controlling process in determining the adsorption of the three pollutants investigated. The adsorption data fit well with the Langmuir and Freundlich models. The uptake of the three pollutants was found to be strongly dependent on the pH value and the temperature of the solution. Most of the experiments were conducted at pH 7; the pH(PZC) of the active carbon under study was 5.0; the surface of the active carbon was negatively charged. The thermodynamic parameters evaluated for APC revealed that the adsorption of P was spontaneous and exothermic in nature, while PNP and BA showed no-spontaneity of the adsorption process and that process was endothermic in nature.

Carbonization products C1, C2, C3, C4 and C5 were prepared by the carbonization of date pit in limited air, at 500, 600, 700, 800 and 1000℃, respectively. C1-V-600, C3-V-600, C1-V-1000 and C3-V-1000 were prepared by thermal treatment of C1 and C3 under vacuum at 600 and 1000℃. The textural properties were determined from nitrogen adsorption at 77 K and from carbon dioxide adsorption at 298 K. The surface pH, the FTIR spectra and the acid and base neutralization capacities of some carbons were investigated. The amounts of surface oxygen were determined by out-gassing the carbon-oxygen groups on the surface as CO2 and CO. The adsorption of water vapor at 308 K on C1, C2, C3 and C4 was measured and the decomposition of H2O2 at 308 K was also investigated on C1, C2, C3, C4 and C5. The surface area and the total pore volume decreased with the rise of the carbonization temperature from 500 to 1000℃. The adsorption of water vapor is independent on the textural properties, while it is related to the amount of acidic carbon-oxygen groups on the surface. The catalytic activity of H2O2 decomposition does not depend on the textural properties, but directly related to the amount of basic carbon-oxygen complexes out-gassed as CO, at high temperatures.