Activated carbon prepared from Canadian oil sands coke by CO₂ activation: I. Trends in pore development and the effect of pre‐oxidation

Oil sands coke is a byproduct of oil sands upgrading, which potentially can be used for the production of low cost activated carbons. Activation of oil sands delayed coke was performed by partial CO 2 ‐gasification in a tubular fixed bed reactor at 900°C. Pore development during activation initially proceeded almost exclusively by micro‐pore formation, and the reaction appeared to follow a shrinking core model. Surface areas up to 646 m 2 /g were obtained, and coarser particles reached lower maximum surface areas at lower levels of burn‐off than finer particles. Pre‐oxidation in air at 270°C resulted in higher maximum surface areas.