Methane storage in carbon pellets prepared via a binderless method

An activated carbon was prepared via template synthesis, which presents a high surface area (2136 m2/g), a high gravimetric methane sorption capacity (10 mmol/g at 25 °C and 35 bar), but a low bulk density (0.28 g/cm3). A simplified hot-pressing method was proposed to fabricate carbon pellets. The pellet possesses the high bulk density (0.98 g/cm), good mechanical strength, and a methane storage capacity of 127 v/v at 35 bar and 25 °C. It was found that the hot-pressing can effectively reduce the mesoporosity of the carbon powder and, meanwhile, change the microstructure and morphology of the graphite carbons.