The use and analysis of new and existing biomass derived activated carbon in novel application testing for new and existing market entry

CPL Industries Limited is the UK's market leader in the manufacture and supply of coal and biomass based smokeless solid fuels used in domestic heating. Alongside this core business area and more recently CPL have a fast-growing activated carbon division. CPL also have an experienced R&D team covering both these business areas.

CPL Activated Carbons are part of CPL Industries ltd and is a division that is responsible for the purchase, regeneration and sale of activated carbon for a wide range of industrial applications covering areas in UK, Europe and most recently America. The large majority of activated carbon currently purchased is coal based and is imported from China (95%) with the balance from Australia. CPL's R&D division have and are developing new biomass derived activated carbons (both using physical and chemical activation) that require direct comparison to carbons currently available in the market today.

The challenge is to achieve significant understanding of the key properties and characteristics of the activated carbons provided such as pore structure and pore surface chemistry. This knowledge is to be transferred into new and existing final application testing in lab, pilot and potentially industrial scale for existing and potentially new emerging markets. The methods for this application testing will be developed in-house by yourself and assisted by CPL R&D and activated carbons division. The new biomass carbons will need to be compared to current existing carbons in terms of performance, cost and sustainability.

One main focus of the project will be investigating activated carbon performance for the removal of micropollutants in waste water and drinking water.
The project will begin with activated carbon characteristics using a range of equipment such as the micro metrics surface and porosity measurement, thermo gravimetric analysis and elemental analysis. The carbon will be a mixture of carbons currently available in the market but also new carbons produced by the CPL R&D team. These carbons and potential carbon blends will be tested on a purpose made experimental process that can simulate industrial style carbon filters. Water containing micropollutants will be self-made or brought in from real industrial water treatment sites. Once the method and experimental procedure has been determined the water and spent carbon analysis can take place. LC analysis will be used to determine remaining micropollutant remaining in the water. Novel aspects of the project are determining the pore structure and surface chemistry required to efficiently and effectively remove a range of the main micropollutants from the water and also new biomass derived activated carbon testing.
There could also be other new opportunities that arise during the early stages of the project where carbon analysis can play a big role in determining the adsorption potential of other contaminants across other industries.

The proposed Centre will benefit the following groups

1. Students - develop their professional skills, a broad technical and societal knowledge of the sector and a wider appreciation of the role decarbonised fuel systems will play in the UK and internationally. They will develop a strong network of peers who they can draw on in their professional careers. We will continue to offer our training to other Research Council PhD students and cross-fertilise our training with that offered under other CDT programmes, and similar initiatives where that develops mutual benefit. We will further enhance this offering by encouraging industrialists to undertake some of our training as Professional Development ensuring a broadening of the training cohort beyond academe. Students will be very employable due to their knowledge, skills and broad industrial understanding.
2. Industrial partners - Companies identify research priorities that underpin their long-term business goals and can access state of the art facilities within the HEIs involved to support that research. They do not need to pre-define the scope of their work at the outset, so that the Centre can remain responsive to their developing research needs. They may develop new products, services or models and have access to a potential employee cohort, with an advanced skill base. We have already established a track record in our predecessor CDTs, with graduates now acting as research managers and project supervisors within industry
3. Academic partners - accelerating research within the Energy research community in each HEI. We will develop the next generation of researchers and research leaders with a broader perspective than traditional PhD research and create a bedrock of research expertise within each HEI, developing supervisory skills across a broad range of topics and faculties and supporting HEIs' goals of high quality publications leading to research impacts and an informed group of educators within each HEI. .
4. Government and regulators - we will liaise with national and regional regulators and policy makers. We will conduct research directly aligned with the Government's Clean Growth Strategy, Mission Innovation and with the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund's theme Prosper from the Energy Revolution, to help meet emission, energy security and affordability targets and we will seek to inform developing energy policy through new findings and impartial scientific advice. We will help to provide the skills base and future innovators to enable growth in the decarbonised energy sector.
5. Wider society and the publics - developing technologies to reduce carbon emissions and reduce the cost of a transition to a low carbon economy. Need to ascertain the publics' views on the proposed new technologies to ensure we are aligned with their views and that there will be general acceptance of the new technologies. Public engagement will be a two-way conversation where researchers will listen to the views of different publics, acknowledging that there are many publics and not just one uniform group. We will actively engage with public from including schools, our local communities and the 'interested' public, seeking to be honest providers of unbiased technical information in a way that is correct yet accessible.