(519e) Tunable Fabrication of Carbon Nanofibers from Renewable and Waste Resources for the Desulfurization of LPG

Escalating environmental concerns, as well as the demand for sustainable growth, have dictated the need of utilizing renewable and waste materials for the manufacture of high value-added products. This concept has been the main motivation behind the research presented here, which focuses on the development of versatile adsorbents from waste bioresources and inexpensive feedstock.

Lignin is an abundant and inexpensive natural polymer obtained as a major by-product of the paper industry. There has been a growing interest in its use as precursor for carbon fibers due to its relatively high carbon content (>60%), its availability and its low cost. On the other hand, the total global consumption of plastics increases annually by 5-6%, while PET is the most recyclable plastic material in the USA and probably worldwide. It would be therefore desirable to develop alternative usages of waste PET. Moreover, asphaltenes are heavy aromatic hydrocarbons with complex structure, obtained together with resins and saturates in the form of bitumen from the distillation of crude oil. They are an inexpensive feedstock, which is suitable for producing carbon fibers, due to their high carbon content.

In this research, lignin was combined with recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) for the tunable fabrication of electrospun fibers, which were carbonized into carbon nanofibers (CNFs). Asphaltenes were used as an alternative precursor for the fabrication of CNFs, after they were blended with poly(vinylidene fluoride). The CNFs were used as adsorbents for the deep desulfurization of Liquefied Petroleum Gas. Deep desulfurization is considered the main obstacle for the use of LPG as a feedstock for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells. In this presentation, our results towards this direction will be presented and discussed.