Preparation of Activated Carbon Fiber from Chemically Modified Coal-tar Pitch

Cabon fiber of general purpose was prepared from coal tar pitch modified with 10% benzoquinine(BQ) at 380C for 3 hours. Such a modified pitch raised the softening of the pitch from 85C to 271C at the yield of 40%. The modified pitch was spun smoothly at a rate of 480m/min into a fiber of 20um diameter. The fiber was stabilized stepwise at 236C (5C/min) and 312C (1C/min) for 3 hours each. Both carbonized and graphitized fibers exhibited tensile strength of 570MPa which appears large enough as a precursor for active carbon fiber. The activated carbon fiber prepared exhibited relatively high surface area of 2062m2/g at 76% burn-off and rather narrow distribution pore size of 20A.