Assessment of the development of the pore size distribution during carbon activation: a population balance approach

In the current study the changes produced in the pore size distribution (PSD) of lignite char during physical activation have been assessed. A mathematical model has been developed based on a population balance. In our approach, the evolution of the pore size distribution is computed as a function of time. To provide the necessary experimental input to the analysis, and to test the model, the pore size distribution is determined experimentally for samples obtained at a sequence of times. Data for the adsorption of nitrogen at 77 K and ethane at 264 K were obtained and analyzed by a combination of density functional theory (DFT) for nitrogen, and our own Grand Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulation-based method for nitrogen and for ethane.