Coconut shell-based carbon adsorbents were prepared and applied to vacuum pressure swing adsorption
(VPSA) process for ventilation air methane (VAM) enrichment. The preparation procedure consists simply
of pulverization of the coconut shell chars, pelletization with phenolic resin as binder, and carbonization
of the pellets under N2 flow. The pyrolysis characteristics of coconut shells, including the composition of
gas products at different pyrolysis temperature interval, the porous characteristics, the proximate and
ultimate analyses, the surface functional groups, and the grindability of the chars from varied pyrolysis
temperature, were systematically investigated. So that the reasonable pyrolysis temperature for coconut
shell chars production was determined. The ratio of phenolic resin to char powder was optimized in
regarding of the compressive strength, packing density, textural characteristics, and CH4/N2 separation
factor of the carbon adsorbents. The performance of the carbon adsorbent prepared under optimum condition
for VAM enrichment by VPSA was examined, and it merits the need for flow-reversal reactor or
lean-burn combustion turbine to generate powe