Activated carbon fibers for gas storage

The advantages of activated carbon fibers (ACF) over granular activated carbon (GAC) are reviewed and their relationship to ACF structure and texture are discussed. These advantages make ACF very attractive for gas storage applications. Both adsorbed natural gas (ANG) and hydrogen gas adsorption performance are discussed. The predicted and actual structure and performance of lignin-derived ACF are reviewed. The manufacture and performance of ACF derived monolith for potential automotive natural gas (NG) storage applications are reported. Future trends for ACF for gas storage are considered to be positive. The recent improvements in NG extraction coupled with the widespread availability of NG wells means a relatively inexpensive and abundant NG supply in the foreseeable future. This has rekindled interest in NG-powered vehicles. The advantages and benefit of ANG compared to compressed NG offer the promise of accelerated use of ANG as a commuter vehicle fuel. It is to be hoped the current cost hurdle of ACF can be overcome opening ANG applications that take advantage of the favorable properties of ACF versus GAC. Lastly, suggestions are made regarding the direction of future work.