Nanoporous carbon from corncobs for storing landfill gas

PETR 143

Parag S Shah, pss7rf@mizzou.edu, Chemical Engineering Dept, University of Missouri, Columbia, Columbia, MO 65211
Corn cob is an excellent material for the production of nanoporous carbon because of its botanical origin similar to coconut shells and olive pits. Nanoporous carbon can be made from corncobs using chemical and physical activation routes. This ultra porous carbon has numerous applications in chemical industry including methane storage from Land fill gas and transportation applications. The highly porous activated carbon produced from corn cobs is cheap primarily because of the low price of corn cobs as compared to conventional sources like coconut shells, olive pits and peach stones.