Thermogravimetric Study of Carbonization Processes for Industrial Porous Co-polymers of Spherical Granules

The industrial porous co-polymers and resins in the form of spherical granules include three main matrices which serve as the basis of the large-scale production of ion-exchange materials: styrene/divinylbenzene, vinylpyridine/divinylbenzene and acrylonitrile/divinylbenzene. Complex thermal methods (TG, DTG and DTA) were used to study the carbonization processes of various industrial products utilized as starting materials for the preparation of synthetic active carbons. The DTG results, the thermal effects observed during the programmed heating of samples, and the mass-spectrometric and IR-spectroscopic data up to 800°C provided a picture of a multi-stage carbonization process. This includes the removal of moisture from the polymer matrices, the primary cross-linking of the chains, their aromatization and condensation due to the cross-linking of polynuclear structures, and the removal of ‘excess carbon’ as simple molecules and free radicals of hydrocarbon type. The results promoted the choice of the optimal regimes in which to carryout the isothermal pyrolysis of various polymer matrices and preliminary chemical modifications to increase the yields on carbon and to prepare synthetic active carbons such as those of SCN, SCAN and SCS types. General schemes were proposed for the chemical reactions accompanying the carbonization process for these polymer matrices. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.