Carbon materials play an essential role in various industries due to their unique properties. Here, we explore five common carbon materials—biochar, activated carbon, carbon black, graphite, and graphene. According to their internal connection, here divides them into three groups for a more structured introduction.
Understanding Five Common Carbon Materials
Group One: Biochar and Activated Carbon
Biochar
- Production Technology: Biochar is produced through the pyrolysis of biomass, a process that involves thermal decomposition in an oxygen-limited environment.
- Characteristics: It has a high carbon content, a porous structure, excellent soil amendment properties, and is structurally stable.
- Uses: Biochar is widely used for soil improvement and carbon sequestration, helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance agricultural productivity.
Activated Carbon
- Production Technology: Activated carbon is derived from biochar through further chemical or physical activation processes, such as steam or chemical treatment, to increase its porosity.
- Characteristics: It is highly porous with a large surface area and possesses strong adsorption capabilities.
- Uses: Activated carbon is primarily used for purifying water and air, gas adsorption, decolorization, and as a catalyst support.
Group Two: Carbon Black
- Production Technology: The production process can use one of many different production methods, including the use of oil furnace, lampback, channel, gas furnace, acetylene decomposition and thermal pyrolysis process.
- Characteristics: It features fine particle size, high surface area, good electrical conductivity, strong black coloring ability, and chemical stability.
- Uses: It is mainly used as a filler and pigment in rubber products (like tires), inks, and coatings.
Group Three: Graphite and Graphene
Graphite
- Production Technology: Graphite can be obtained through the mining and refining of natural ores or produced through synthetic methods to create high-purity graphite.
- Characteristics: Graphite is a natural carbon material composed of stacked layers of graphene. It’s known for its excellent electrical conductivity, heat resistance, and lubricating properties.
- Uses: It is primarily used in pencil leads, lubricants, electrode materials, refractory materials, and as a moderator in nuclear reactors. It is also used in the production of batteries and conductive materials.
Graphene
- Production Technology: Graphene can be extracted from graphite using techniques such as mechanical exfoliation and chemical vapor deposition, with precise control needed during production to maintain its monolayer structure and performance advantages.
- Characteristics: Graphene is a two-dimensional material formed from a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a lattice structure. It boasts exceptional electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, strength, and flexibility, earning it the title of “king of materials.”
- Uses: It is widely used in electronic devices, energy storage, supercapacitors, solar cells, nanocomposites, and biomedical applications.
What Carbon Materials Can Beston Group Help You Obtain?
For years, Beston Group has specialized in innovative pyrolysis technology, enabling the recycling of waste materials into valuable carbon products. With Beston Group’s advanced systems, you can:
- Recycle tyres/plastics to produce carbon black: This can be achieved by purchasing and setting up a pyrolysis machine.
- Recycle biomass to generate biochar. Through the use of Beston’s biochar pyrolysis equipment, you can transform various types of biomass into valuable biochar for agricultural and industrial applications.
Contact Beston Group now!
