Developing a Facile Technology for Converting Domestic US Coal into High-Value Graphene

Technical Report · Mon Aug 07 04:00:00 EDT 2023

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1993438· OSTI ID:1993438

Luong, Duy ^[1]; Lin, Jian ^[2]

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1. Universal Matter, Ltd., Houston, TX (United States); Universal Matter Ltd
2. Univ. of Missouri, Columbia, MO (United States)

Universal Matter Ltd. was formed in July 2019 to scale-up and commercialize a breakthrough process, Flash Joule Heating (FJH), to transform different coal grades, into high-quality graphene. This graphene is made using a high-voltage electric discharge that brings the carbon source to temperatures higher than 3,000 K in less than 10 milliseconds. The short burst of electricity breaks all chemical bonds in the feedstock and reorders the carbon atoms into exceptionally thin layers of a special type of graphene, at an estimated $100 per ton in electricity cost. This process is capable of producing 1-5 layer-thick high-quality graphene (with defects of <0.05% and purity of >99%) in a green, practical, and cost-effective process. The graphene produced in the FJH process is a very special kind of graphene called “turbostratic graphene” (TG). TG offers superior physical properties compared to other graphene structures on a similar weight basis. Unlike graphene made from graphite using traditional techniques, the graphene layers in TG stack in an irregular pattern that allows the graphene powder to be exfoliated more easily and blend more evenly within other materials. The TG produced using our FJH technology is the most economical graphene product that opens up significant large volume markets for end-use applications; it would allow the use of TG made from coal for commercial applications in several market segments including energy storage, sensors, hyper-lubricants, reinforced plastics, and building materials such as concrete.

• Research Organization: Universal Matter, Ltd., Houston, TX (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM)
• DOE Contract Number: FE0031988
• OSTI ID: 1993438
• Report Number(s): QK47YVM5ELL9; QK47YVM5ELL9
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
42 ENGINEERING
77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY
Graphene via Flash Joule Heating