Efficient Process for the Production of High Conductivity, Carbon-rich Materials from Coal

Domestic coal can be used to manufacture high value carbon products for multiple applications. The market value of these high performance materials often exceeds the fuel and heat value of coal, which illustrates there are sustainable market forces for manufacturing carbon materials from coal. However, current processes to produce high performance carbon materials from coal pose significant challenges associated with the substantial chemical modifications of the native coal structures that require high temperatures and/or strongly oxidative, highly corrosive reagents. This small business proposes an innovative approach for producing high value, carbon-based products from coal feedstocks for the manufacturing of high conductivity materials for electrochemical applications. The proposed technology builds upon the pre-existing coal structures to create high conductivity features under mild conditions. The innovation is a two-step process that generates carbonaceous materials with key structural attributes for high conductivity. The process provides minimal reagent usage, efficient recycling (>90%) and produces a carbon product for electrochemical applications with 20-30X higher value than the coal price. In addition, the process generates valuable byproducts such as minerals and low emission gaseous fuels. The small business performed several pre-proposal experiments that have demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed process. The overall goal of the Phase I program is to demonstrate the feasibility and economic viability of the proposed approach. During the Phase I effort, this small business will: (a) screen and select coal sources suitable as feedstocks; (b) demonstrate scalable processes to produce the high conductivity material; (c) demonstrate performance in battery electrode formulations, one potential electrochemical application, and (d) perform techno-economic analysis to outline pathways for scale up and further development and optimization in Phase II.