Modeling of the Process of Steam Activation of Carbon-Containing Raw Materials in the Technological Line of Activated Carbon Production

The activation of carbon-containing materials by partial gasification has been widely studied for the production of sorbents capable of removing undesirable flavors, colors, and odors, and more recently for use in the pharmaceutical industry to remove toxins. The raw material for the production of activated carbon can be any organic substance containing carbon. Therefore, taking into account the high cost of producing activated carbon from fossil coals, including economic and environmental aspects, recently much attention has been paid to the use of secondary raw materials of plant origin for this purpose. Waste from the agro-industrial and forestry complexes is easily accessible, renewable and inexpensive, so the activated carbon produced from it has high commercial potential. The results of mathematical modeling of the process of steam activation of coal for the technological line for the production of activated carbon are presented. At the Department of Processing of Wood Materials of the Kazan National Research Technological University (KNRTU), an installation for thermochemical processing of secondary raw materials into activated carbon was developed. To identify the optimal technological parameters of the process of steam activation of coal, numerical modeling of changes in the specific surface area and total pore volume was carried out by solving a system of differential equations of chemical kinetics written for a particle in the form of a ball. Kinetic curves of the specific surface area, total pore volume of coal, specific mass of carbonate and activation gases, flow rate, superheated water vapor from the productivity of activated carbon were obtained, which will allow us to recommend technological parameters for the installation. Approbation of the mathematical model was carried out, according to the results of which rational modes of organization of the coal activation process were recommended.