Grant: Idea to Innovation

Activated carbon is a widely used adsorbent for the removal of pollutants from gas and water streams. Activated carbon is made by pyrolysis and activation of carbonaceous precursor materials. Oil sands coke, a byproduct of bitumen upgrading, has a high carbon content and can be an effective adsorbent after activation. Conventional activation of oil sands coke with steam and/or CO2 using convection-radiation heating needs significant energy input due to the long heating time (1 to 6 hours of heating). Hence a faster and more energy-efficient process is needed. We have developed a new activation method that uses microwave heating to complete the activation of oil sands coke in short duration (5 mins to 40 mins). The technique was proven successful at bench-scale tests. This proposal aims at scaling up the technique to a pilot-scale level before moving to a full-scale production level. The short activation time and simplicity of the activation process demonstrate that the microwave activation method is a promising approach to convert the million of tonnes of oil sands coke currently stockpiled as waste, into a useful adsorbent with high adsorption capacity.