The application of Stoeckli theory to determine pore size distribution (PSD) of activated carbons using high pressure methane adsorption data is explored. Coconut shell was used as a raw material for the preparation of 16 different activated carbon samples. Four samples with higher methane adsorption were selected and nitrogen adsorption on these adsorbents was also investigated. Some differences are found between the PSD obtained from the analysis of nitrogen adsorption isotherms and their PSD resulting from the same analysis using methane adsorption data. It is suggested that these differences may arise from the specific interactions between nitrogen molecules and activated carbon surfaces; therefore caution is required in the interpretation of PSD obtained from the nitrogen isotherm data.

Keywords