Abstract
Activated carbons were produced by chemical activation with H3PO4 (CAQ1) and ZnCl2 (CAQ2), and used for the methane storage under compression and adsorption. Storage evaluations were performed in a semi-pilot unit where temperature and pressure evolutions were measured (charge pressure: 3.0 MPa). Textural characteristics, absolute densities and specific heats of the activated carbons were measured and related to the performance of the storage system. Mathematical models were developed to predict temperature and pressure evolutions during the gas loading. Our results showed that activated carbon CAQ1 had higher absolute density and lower specific heat than CAQ2. Models that consider the pore-size distribution were the most representative of experimental data for both activated carbons.