Our specialty carbon production process...

The development of commercial processes for producing specialty carbons is currently attracting the attention across a wide range of industries. Y-Carbon's high-performance specialty carbon nanomaterials represent one of the most promising directions in this emerging field. Our production process allows for reproducible atomic-level control over carbon porosity. Y-Carbon has developed this technology into a scalable, cost-effective platform for manufacturing porous carbon nanomaterials for a wide range of specialty applications. Y-Carbon specialty carbons includes carbide derived carbon, polymer derived carbon and high purity activated carbon obtained from coconut shell, coal and wood.

The carbide-derived carbon process involves etching metal atoms from metal carbides, e.g. removing Si atoms from SiC by etching with halogens, to produce porous carbons templated by the precursor carbide. Varying specific process parameters allows us to systematically control the structure and porosity of the carbon produced, resulting in a "tunable" materials system with a wide range of possible materials. Faster, more precise, and more controllable than the conventional multi-step pyrolytic processes employed to produce conventional activated carbons, Y-Carbon's carbide-derived carbon technology requires only a single step to produce porous carbon, and carbon materials with under 100 ppm of impurities are possible.

The polymer-derived carbon process involves a two-step process; pyrolysis followed by activation. Polymer-derived carbon is very clean, dust free, and contains very little ash (less than 0.2%). Selection of different polymer precursors results in control of pore sizes, surface chemistry and particle shape. Spherical hard carbon particles can be used in applications where fast absorption capability, excellent wear resistance, and minimum pressure drop are desired.

Our commodity based activated carbon production process...

Our commodity-based activated carbons are primarily manufactured from three raw materials: coconut shell, coal and wood. Pyrolysis or carbonization and activation are the two major steps for producing activated carbons. The pyrolysis process involves removal of moisture and volatile matters from the raw material. In pyrolysis, the raw material is exposed to an inert atmosphere at 600 to 900°C. Once pyrolysis is completed, the "char" (output of pyrolysis) is activated. Activation results in creation of pores. In the activation process, the "char" is exposed to activating agents such as carbon dioxide, steam, potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, zinc chloride, phosphoric acid, etc. at temperatures between 250 to 1200°C.

SPECIALITY CARBON

ACTIVATED CARBON

Ash content = < 0.05%


Ash content = < 2%

Ash content = > 2%

Customization...

We can provide materials with specific properties optimized for a given application. Our engineers are experienced in determining the material characteristics needed for a variety of applications, while our process flexibility allows us to readily tune a material to offer optimal performance.

Below are some of our custom manufacturing capability:
• Narrow, broad, or hierarchical pore size distribution, with mean pore sizes from 0.6 to 10 nm are available
• High specific surface areas up to 2,000 square meter per gram and pore volumes up to 1 cubic centimeter per gram available
• A wide variety of form factors are possible, including micron-sized powders, nanopowders, spherical powders, coatings, monoliths, and fibers
• Systematic control over surface chemistry for tailoring sorption behavior and hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity
• Metals, metal oxide, metal carbide, and halogen inclusions can be retained in the final material to improve performance for a specific application

Please visit www.NanoTuneX.com to learn about our custom manufacturing capability.