Extrudable formulation for making mesoporous carbon and method of making an extruded mesoporous carbon monolith

Abstract

A method of making an extruded mesoporous carbon monolith includes extruding a precursor paste comprising an extrusion aid, a carbon source resin, a carbon powder, an inorganic pore forming agent, an organic pore forming agent, and a liquid carrier to form a green extrudate, and then removing the liquid carrier from the green extrudate to form a dried extrudate. The dried extrudate is heated to a curing temperature of the carbon source resin, whereby the carbon source resin is crosslinked to form a crosslinked carbon source resin, and a cured extrudate is formed. The cured extrudate is heated to a carbonization temperature, whereby the organic pore forming agent is removed and the crosslinked carbon source resin is converted to carbon, forming a carbonized extrudate. The carbonized extrudate is exposed to an alkaline solution, whereby the inorganic pore forming agent is removed by dissolution and a mesoporous carbon monolith is formed.

Description

EXTRUDABLE FORMULATION FOR MAKING MESOPOROUS CARBON AND METHOD OF MAKING AN EXTRUDED MESOPOROUS CARBON MONOLITHCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 63 / 623,547 filed on January 22, 2024, the content of which is relied upon and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] This disclosure relates generally to materials for adsorption-based CO2 capture and more particularly to a method of making an extruded mesoporous carbon monolith.BACKGROUND

[0003] The increasing level of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission is considered one of the major environmental challenges that our planet is facing today. Since the onset of the Industrial Revolution in the 18thcentury, the atmospheric concentration of CO2 increased from about 280 ppm to 417 ppm in 2022. The record-high level of atmospheric CO2 concentration is the impetus for climate change and a sea level rise of 1-3 mm per year. If no action is taken, the atmospheric CO2 concentration is estimated to rise to 450 ppm by 2050. Because of surging public concerns about potential environmental damage, carbon capture and storage / sequestration (CCS) or utilization (CCU) have become key research topics in the twenty-first century. CCS aims at geological storage of CO2 in the deep underground, whereas CCU is a concept in which captured CO2 is utilized as a carbon source for chemical feedstocks, such as fuels and fine chemicals. The scientific community and industry are gradually concluding that CCS has economic limitations. Hence, industries are shifting toward exploration of CCU technologies.

[0004] Among carbon capture technologies, there is a growing interest in adsorption-based CO2 capture due to its combined potential of reduced energy penalty and easy retrofitting withminimal integration into existing industrial plants. The lower energy penalty is due to the lower specific heat capacity of solid sorbents in addition to avoiding evaporation of a large amount of water in the regeneration as compared to solvent-based technologies. More importantly, adsorption-based technology can offer the flexibility of capturing CO2 from different industrial CO2 sources due to its different sorbent regeneration modes (temperature / pressure swings) and reactor types. In recent years, many studies have been carried out to develop highly efficient materials, such as zeolites, porous carbons, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and metal oxides for capturing CO2.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] The embodiments may be better understood with reference to the following drawings and description. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale.

[0006] FIG. 1A shows exemplary steps in a method to make an extruded mesoporous carbon monolith, such as a mesoporous carbon honeycomb monolith.

[0007] FIG. IB shows exemplary steps in a method to prepare an extrudable formulation for making mesoporous carbon.

[0008] FIG. 2A illustrates an exemplary procedure for preparing an extrudable precursor paste.

[0009] FIG. 2B illustrates an exemplary procedure for forming a carbonized extrudate from a green extrudate, after forming the green extrudate by extrusion from the extrudable precursor paste.

[0010] FIG. 2C illustrates an exemplary procedure for treating the carbonized extrudate with an alkaline solution to form an extruded mesoporous carbon monolith.

[0011] FIGS. 3 A and 3B show pore size distributions for extruded mesoporous carbon samples.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] Described in this disclosure is an extrudable formulation and method of making extruded mesoporous carbon monoliths, such as mesoporous carbon honeycomb monoliths.Advantageously, the articles according to the current disclosure comprise a material having a particularly high porosity, and especially a particularly high porosity in the mesopore size range (e.g., from 2 nm to 50 nm), which may be well suited for functionalization with amines or loading of other sorbent materials, such as for use in the selective capture of carbon dioxide or other gas. It has been discovered that such extrudable formulations can be prepared from a precursor mixture including both organic and inorganic pore forming agents along with carbon powder, a carbon source resin, and extrusion aids. The extruded mesoporous carbon monoliths have a high porosity and large pore volume along with good mechanical integrity, making them amenable to impregnation with a high concentration of amines for CO2 capture. Mesoporous carbon honeycomb monoliths prepared as described herein and modified with amine functional groups may provide excellent CO2 uptake capacity, fast adsorption kinetics and easy regeneration with stable cycling performance.

[0013] The extrudable formulation for preparing an extruded mesoporous carbon monolith includes a liquid carrier, a carbon source resin, carbon powder, an organic pore forming agent (or “organic pore former”), an inorganic pore forming agent (or “inorganic pore former”), and an extrusion aid. The extrudable formulation may undergo mixing and compounding to form an extrudable precursor paste, which may then be extruded and heat treated, including drying, curing and carbonization steps, followed by alkaline solution treatment to form an extruded mesoporous carbon monolith, as discussed in detail below.

[0014] The formulation and method described herein may enable preparation of self- supporting mesoporous carbon monoliths, such as a mesoporous carbon honeycomb monolith or structure. The mesoporous carbon honeycomb monolith may take the form of an extruded body (or “extruded monolith”) comprising mesoporous carbon and including a plurality of open channels extending longitudinally therethrough from one end to the other. The open channels or cells, which are formed during extrusion and may serve as passageways for fluid flow (e.g. gas flow), are separated by cell walls comprising the mesoporous carbon.

[0015] The mesoporous carbon formed from the extrudable formulation and according to the method described in this disclosure may have a disordered or nonuniform arrangement of pores. The mesoporous carbon may further have a hierarchical porous structure, where the pores include mesopores from 2 nm to 50 nm in linear size (that is, width or diameter) andmacropores of greater than 50 nm in linear size. There may be a bimodal or multimodal distribution of pore sizes. The hierarchical porous structure may originate from the pore structure of the carbon powder, the use and removal of both organic and inorganic pore forming agents, and an optional post-synthesis activation process. Advantageously, the mesoporous carbon is engineered to have the desired surface area and pore volume along with the mechanical strength required to resist damage and function as a self-supporting monolith.

[0016] Referring now to FIG. 1A, the method to produce an extruded monolith, such as an extruded honeycomb monolith, comprising mesoporous carbon entails extruding 108 a precursor paste comprising a liquid carrier, an extrusion aid, a carbon source resin, a carbon powder, an organic pore forming agent and an inorganic pore forming agent. The precursor paste may be extruded through a die as described in more detail below.

[0017] Formation of the precursor paste used for the extrusion may be carried out according to the procedure shown in FIG. IB. The carbon powder, the inorganic pore forming agent, and the extrusion aid may be mixed together 102 to form a dry mixture, and the carbon source resin, the organic pore forming agent, and the liquid carrier may be mixed together 104 to form a liquid mixture. The dry mixture may be combined 106 with the liquid mixture and compounded into an extrudable precursor paste. It is also contemplated that the components of the dry mixture may be individually mixed into the liquid mixture to form the precursor paste. The compounding refers to mixing or blending to obtain a homogeneous plasticized paste. Advantageously, the precursor paste has a plasticity or rheology which facilitates extrusion but also allow the paste to retain its geometry after extrusion. In some examples, the precursor paste may be viscoelastic or have a strain-rate dependent viscosity. For example, the precursor paste may have a reduced viscosity at high shear rates (e.g., while undergoing extrusion) and an increased viscosity at low shear rates (e.g., after extrusion, to maintain its shape), and thus may be described as shear-thinning.

[0018] The extrusion aid may enhance the lubricity of the precursor paste to facilitate extrusion through a die. The extrusion aid may comprise a cellulosic polymer, a metallic stearate, an oil, and / or a fatty acid. For example, the extrusion aid may include methylcellulose or hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, which are available commercially under the tradename Methocel™, mineral oil, tall oil, and / or sodium stearate.

[0019] The carbon powder employed in the precursor paste may include activated carbon, carbon black, carbon soot, carbon fullerene, carbon nanofiber, carbon nanotubes, graphene, and / or graphite. Preferably the carbon powder has a porous microstructure and / or a large surface area. Activated carbon, which may be formed from physically or chemically treated (“activated”) carbonaceous precursors, may be especially suitable for use as the carbon powder.

[0020] The carbon source resin may comprise a curable polymer resin that may be crosslinked when heated above a curing temperature and which decomposes to produce carbon when heated above a carbonization or pyrolysis temperature. Accordingly, suitable carbon source resins may include a thermosetting resin, such as phenolic resin, furan resin, or epoxy resin, and / or another crosslinkable resin. Preferably, the carbon source resin produces a high char or carbon yield upon carbonization, such as at least about 40%, or at least about 50%.

[0021] The organic pore forming agent may comprise a polymer having a decomposition temperature above the curing temperature of the carbon source resin and at or below the carbonization temperature. The polymer may be water-soluble. For example, the polymer may comprise polyethylene glycol (PEG), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), or glycerin. The organic pore forming agent functions as a fugitive material that is present in the precursor paste and extrudate before and after curing, but is absent from the carbonized extrudate and the mesoporous carbon monolith. Removal of the organic pore forming agent leads to formation of a population of pores within the carbonized extrudate and the mesoporous carbon monolith.

[0022] The inorganic pore forming agent may comprise an inorganic material which is dissolvable in an alkaline solution. The inorganic material and thus the inorganic pore forming agent may have a particulate form (e.g., a powder). A suitable inorganic material may comprise a metal oxide such as silica, alumina, or zirconia. The silica may include, for example, colloidal silica, silica soot, and / or fumed silica. The inorganic pore forming agent functions as a fugitive material that is present in the precursor paste and the extrudate (through carbonization), but is absent from the mesoporous carbon monolith formed upon alkaline solution treatment. Removal (dissolution) of the inorganic pore forming agent leads to formation of an additional population of pores within the mesoporous carbon monolith.

[0023] The liquid carrier may comprise water, such as deionized (DI) water.

[0024] In some examples, the precursor paste may include the liquid carrier (e.g., DI water) at concentration from 5 to 10 wt.%; the carbon source resin at a concentration from 20 to 30 wt.%; the carbon powder at a concentration from 10 to 20 wt.%; the organic pore forming agent at a concentration from 14 to 20 wt.%; the inorganic pore forming agent at a concentration from 30 to 35 wt.%; and the extrusion aid at a concentration from 1 to 3.5 wt.%.

[0025] Referring again to FIG. 1 A, the precursor paste including the components described above undergoes extrusion 108 to form the green extrudate. During extrusion, the precursor paste is forced through a die having a geometry determined by the intended extruded product. For example, to produce a honeycomb monolith, the die may include inlets (for the precursor paste) on an inlet side of the die in fluid communication with outlets (for the green extrudate) on an outlet side of the die, where the outlets are shaped to extrude honeycomb cell walls. To produce monoliths having other desired shapes, e.g., pellets, rods, etc., the outlets of the die may have another suitable geometry. A hydraulic or screw-driven ram may be employed for extrusion.

[0026] After extrusion, the liquid carrier is removed 110 from the green extrudate by drying. For example, the green extrudate may undergo passive drying at ambient temperature (22-25°C) or active drying at an elevated temperature (e.g., 110-120°C), whereby the liquid carrier (e.g., water, organic solvent) evaporates and a dried extrudate is obtained. In other examples, the removal of the liquid carrier (e.g., drying) may occur as the green extrudate is heated to the curing temperature of the carbon source resin, instead of in a separate drying step.

[0027] As a consequence of heating 112 to the curing temperature, the carbon source resin undergoes crosslinking to form a crosslinked carbon source resin. Preferably, the curing temperature is sufficient to crosslink the carbon source resin without decomposing the organic pore forming agent. In other words, the curing temperature of the carbon source resin is preferably below a decomposition temperature of the organic pore forming agent. Typically, the curing temperature is in a range from about 130°C to about 170°C. The extrusion aid may be removed during curing and / or at some time before carbonization occurs. Curing may take place for a time period from about 30 minutes to 3 hours. After exposure to the curing temperature for a suitable time duration, a cured extrudate including the crosslinked carbonsource resin, the carbon powder, the organic pore forming agent, and the inorganic pore forming agent is obtained.

[0028] Referring again to the flow chart of FIG. 1A, the cured extrudate is heated 114 to a pyrolysis or carbonization temperature at which the crosslinked carbon source resin is converted to carbon and the organic pore forming agent is removed (e.g., by decomposition or volatilization). It is understood that the crosslinked carbon source resin may be partially or substantially fully converted to carbon with one or more other byproducts (e.g., gas(es)) being formed. The heating to the pyrolysis or carbonization temperature may be referred to as “carbonization.” Carbonization may be carried out in a controlled atmosphere comprising an inert gas, such as nitrogen, argon, helium, etc. For example, during carbonization, the cured extrudate may be exposed to a flow of an inert gas, such as nitrogen gas. The carbonization temperature may be least about 450°C, or at least about 650°C, and / or as high as 900°C, or as high as 850°C. The heating at the carbonization temperature may occur for a time duration from 30 minutes to 24 hours. The result is a carbonized extrudate including the carbon obtained from the carbon source resin, the carbon powder, and the inorganic pore forming agent. The carbonized extrudate includes pores created by the removal of the organic pore forming agent.

[0029] The carbonized extrudate is then exposed to (e.g., immersed in) 116 an alkaline solution, which dissolves the inorganic pore forming agent. The alkaline solution is typically a hot alkaline solution heated to a temperature in a range from 70°C to 110°C (e.g., 90°C). The alkaline solution may include a base such as sodium hydroxide (NaOH), ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH) or potassium hydroxide (KOH) and water. In one example, the alkaline solution comprises 10 wt.% NaOH. The carbonized extrudate is exposed to the alkaline solution for a time sufficient to ensure dissolution of the inorganic pore forming agent (e.g., 30 minutes to 2 hours).

[0030] Typically, after the exposure to the alkaline solution, the resulting mesoporous carbon monolith is rinsed in water to remove the dissolved pore forming agent and the alkaline solution, and then is dried, e.g., at a temperature from about 100°C to about 140°C. However, if NH4OH in particular is employed as the base in the alkaline solution, the mesoporous carbon monolith may not undergo rinsing after synthesis; instead, a further heat treatment may be employed to remove the dissolved pore forming agent and promote the formation of aminefunctional groups (-NHX) on exposed surfaces of the mesoporous carbon. In such an example, the alkaline solution used to dissolve the inorganic pore forming agent may comprise 10-20 wt.% NH4OH, and the dissolution may occur at room temperature for typically 6-24 hours. The further heat treatment to remove the dissolved pore forming agent may including heating the mesoporous carbon to a temperature in a range from 650-800°C for 1-2 hours. These amine functional groups may be in addition to amine functional groups added in a further polyamine impregnation step, as described below.

[0031] Upon removal of the inorganic pore forming agent from the carbonized extrudate, an extruded monolith comprising mesoporous carbon (which may also be referred to as an extruded mesoporous carbon monolith) is formed. Some fraction of the porosity of the mesoporous carbon is created by removal of the inorganic pore forming agent, some fraction is created by removal of the organic pore forming agent, and some fraction is due to porosity inherent to the starting carbon powder. In some examples, the method may further include, after the exposure to the alkaline solution (and the subsequent rinsing and drying or the further heat treatment), activation by steam, CO2 or air to further increase the surface area and porosity of the mesoporous carbon.

[0032] After fabrication, the extruded mesoporous carbon monolith may be impregnated with a polyamine to form amine functional groups on the mesoporous carbon. The impregnation may entail dissolving a polyamine in a solvent (water or an organic solvent) to form an impregnation solution and exposing the mesoporous carbon to the impregnation solution (e.g., by immersion or coating). Upon drying to remove the solvent, the polyamine remains and amine functional groups are thereby incorporated onto exposed surfaces of the mesoporous carbon.

[0033] The mesoporous carbon of the extruded monolith prepared as described in this disclosure has a porous structure comprising a porosity of at least 55% and a pore volume of at least about 0.5 ml / g. The pore volume may be at least about 1 ml / g, and / or as high as about 2 ml / g, or as high as about 1.4 ml / g, and may be calculated according to the Barrett-Joyner- Halenda (BJH) model. The porosity may be at least about 60%, and / or as high as about 75%, or as high as about 70%. As indicated above, the mesoporous carbon may have a hierarchical porous structure and / or may include a disordered arrangement of pores. The mesoporouscarbon may have a Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area in a range from about 580 m2 / g to 700 m2 / g; a bulk density in a range from about 0.4 g / ml to about 0.6 g / ml; and / or an apparent density in a range from about 1.2 g / ml to about 1.5 g / ml. A BJH average pore diameter may lie in a range from about 5 nm to about 12 nm, and a median pore size may be in a range from about 30 nm to about 65 nm, as determined from mercury intrusion porisimetry. Advantageously, the mesoporous carbon monolith has sufficient mechanical integrity to serve as a robust support for an amine or other active material.

[0034] EXAMPLES

[0035] Extruded mesoporous carbon monoliths were fabricated as described below. FIG. 2A is a schematic drawing depicting processing steps for preparing and extruding the precursor paste. The dry mixture including activated carbon, an inorganic pore former such as silica, and extrusion aids Methocel™ and sodium stearate (Liga), was formed and mixed thoroughly to ensure a homogeneous mixture. Also formed was the liquid mixture of the carbon source resin, water, and the organic pore former, which was added to the dry mixture and compounded into an extrudable paste that undergoes extrusion. FIG. 2B is a schematic drawing depicting the heat treatment procedure applied to the green extrudate. In these examples, the extrudate was dried at 120°C and then cured at 150°C for 2 hours. The cured extrudate was then carbonized at 800°C for 1.5 hours under flowing N2. FIG. 2C is a schematic drawing depicting the alkaline dissolution procedure applied to the carbonized extrudate to remove the inorganic pore forming material. In these examples, 10 wt.% NaOH was prepared and heated to 90°C, and the carbonized extrudate was immersed in the hot NaOH solution for 1 hour. The resulting mesoporous carbon monolith was rinsed several times to remove the dissolved inorganic pore former and the residual NaOH, followed by drying at 120°C.

[0036] The pore structure characteristics of the fabricated mesoporous carbon honeycomb monoliths including pore fraction (porosity), pore size, pore volume and density are measured using Micromeritics Autopore IV 9520 Mercury Porosimeter (porosity and pore size) and the Micromeritics 3Flex instrument (pore volume and pore size distribution).

[0037] Materials:

[0038] Phenolic resin: GP® 510D50 from Bakelite

[0039] Silica soot: BET surface area 24.8 m2 / g, estimated primary particle size of about 110 nm (based on N6 soot sample)

[0040] Activated carbon powder: Wood based activated carbon from Asbury Carbons (Grade 5598)

[0041] Fumed silica: Aerosil® 200 from Sigma AldrichTable 1. Compositions of Exemplary Precursor Paste Formulations

[0042] Example 1

[0043] The mesoporous carbon honeycomb monolith was fabricated according to the procedure shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C. The first step was preparation of the extrudable precursor paste, as shown in FIG. 2A. The composition of the precursor paste (MC-EXT-01) is shown in Table 1. The precursor paste was prepared by mixing and compounding 26.31 parts phenolic resin, 14.47 parts activated carbon powder, 17.02 parts PEG 300 (molecular weight 300), 3.58 parts colloidal silica, 22.63 parts silica soot, 6.84 parts fumed silica, 1.45 parts Methocel™, 0.75 sodium stearate (LI GA) and 6.95 parts DI water. After the precursor paste was prepared, it was extruded using a ram extruder. The green extrudate was subjected to the heat treatment protocol shown in FIG. 2B. The green extrudate was dried at 120°C, cured at 150°C for 2 hours and then carbonized at 800°C for 1.5 hours under flowing N2. Finally, the carbonized extrudate was treated in hot 10 wt.%NaOH to dissolve the silica, rinsed thoroughly, and dried at 120°C, as shown in FIG. 2C. The resulting mesoporous carbon honeycomb monolith wascharacterized to obtain its pore structure characteristics. The pore structure data are presented in Table 2, where the data in the right-most five columns were obtained using mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP). FIG. 3A shows the BJH pore size distribution of the MC -EXT-1 extruded honeycomb sample.

[0044] Example 2

[0045] The mesoporous carbon honeycomb monolith of Example 2 was prepared following the same procedure used in Example 1. The precursor paste composition (MC-EXT-02) is shown in Table 1. The paste was prepared by mixing and compounding 26.60 parts phenolic resin, 14.63 parts activated carbon powder, 17.20 parts PEG 300, 3.62 parts colloidal silica, 20.33 parts silica soot, 8.39 parts fumed silica, 1.46 parts Methocel™, 0.74 sodium stearate (LIGA) and 7.03 parts DI water. Extrusion of the precursor paste, and the drying, curing, carbonization and alkaline dissolution treatment that followed were all done in the same manner as in Example 1. The resulting mesoporous carbon honeycomb monolith was characterized to obtain its pore structure characteristics. The pore structure data are presented in Table 2. FIG. 3B shows the BJH pore size distribution of the MC-EXT-2 extruded honeycomb sample.Table 2. Pore Structure Characteristics of Extruded Mesoporous Carbon Honeycomb Samples

[0046] To clarify the use of and to hereby provide notice to the public, the phrases "at least one of , , . . . and <N>" or "at least one of , , ... or <N>" or "at least one of , , . . . <N>, or combinations thereof or ", , . . . and / or <N>" are defined by the Applicant in the broadest sense, superseding any other implied definitions hereinbefore or hereinafter unless expressly asserted by the Applicant to the contrary, to mean one or more elements selected from the group comprising A, B, . . . and N. In other words, the phrases mean any combination of one or more of the elements A, B, ... or N including any one element aloneor the one element in combination with one or more of the other elements which may also include, in combination, additional elements not listed. Unless otherwise indicated or the context suggests otherwise, as used herein, "a" or "an" means "at least one" or "one or more."

[0047] While various embodiments have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible. Accordingly, the embodiments described herein are examples, not the only possible embodiments and implementations.

[0048] In addition to the features mentioned in each of the independent aspects enumerated above, some examples may show, alone or in combination, the optional features mentioned in the dependent aspects and / or as disclosed in the description above and shown in the figures.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. An extrudable formulation for making me soporous carbon, the extrudable formulation comprising: a precursor paste including: a liquid carrier; a carbon source resin; a carbon powder; an organic pore forming agent; an inorganic pore forming agent; and an extrusion aid.

2. The extrudable formulation of claim 1, wherein the extrusion aid comprises a cellulosic polymer, a metallic stearate, an oil, and / or a fatty acid.

3. The extrudable formulation of claim 1 or 2, wherein the extrusion aid is selected from the group consisting of: methylcellulose, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, mineral oil, tall oil, and sodium stearate.

4. The extrudable formulation of any preceding claim, wherein the precursor paste has a plasticity configured to facilitate extrusion through a die and shape retention after extrusion.

5. The extrudable formulation of any preceding claim, wherein the precursor paste comprises a strain-rate dependent viscosity.

6. The extrudable formulation of any preceding claim, wherein the organic pore forming agent comprises a polymer having a decomposition temperature above a curing temperature of the carbon source resin and below a carbonization temperature of the carbon source resin.

7. The extrudable formulation of claim 6. wherein the polymer is selected from the group consisting of: polyethylene glycol (PEG), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and glycerin.

8. The extrudable formulation of any preceding claim, wherein the inorganic pore forming agent comprises an inorganic material dissolvable in an alkaline solution.

9. The extrudable formulation of claim 8, wherein the inorganic material comprises a metal oxide selected from the group consisting of silica, alumina, and zirconia.

10. The extrudable formulation of claim 9, wherein the silica is selected from the group consisting of colloidal silica, silica soot, and fumed silica.

11. The extrudable formulation of any preceding claim, wherein the carbon source resin comprises a curable polymer resin.

12. The extrudable formulation of claim 11, wherein the curable polymer resin is selected from the group consisting of phenolic resin, furan resin, and epoxy resin.

13. The extrudable formulation of any preceding claim, wherein the carbon powder comprises activated carbon, carbon black, carbon soot, carbon fullerene, carbon nanotubes, graphene, and / or graphite.

14. The extrudable formulation of any preceding claim wherein the liquid carrier comprises water.

15. The extrudable formulation of any preceding claim, wherein the precursor paste includes: the liquid carrier at concentration from 5-10 wt.%; the carbon source resin at a concentration from 20-30 wt.%; the carbon powder at a concentration from 10-20 wt.%; the organic pore forming agent at a concentration from 14 to 20 wt.%; the inorganic pore forming agent at a concentration from 29-35 wt.%; and the extrusion aid at a concentration from 1-3.5 wt.%.

16. A method of preparing an extrudable formulation for making me soporous carbon, the method comprising: forming the precursor paste any preceding claim, the forming comprising: mixing together the carbon powder, the inorganic pore forming agent, and the extrusion aid to form a dry mixture; mixing together the carbon source resin, the organic pore forming agent, and the liquid carrier to form a liquid mixture; combining the liquid mixture with the dry mixture and compounding to form the precursor paste.

17. A method of making an extruded mesoporous carbon monolith, the method comprising: extruding a precursor paste comprising a carbon source resin, a carbon powder, an inorganic pore forming agent, an organic pore forming agent, liquid carrier, and an extrusion aid to form a green extrudate; removing the liquid carrier from the green extrudate, thereby forming a dried extrudate; heating the dried extrudate to a curing temperature of the carbon source resin, whereby the carbon source resin is crosslinked to form a crosslinked carbon source resin, thereby forming a cured extrudate; heating the cured extrudate to a carbonization temperature, whereby the organic pore forming agent is removed and the crosslinked carbon source resin is converted to carbon, thereby forming a carbonized extrudate; and exposing the carbonized extrudate to an alkaline solution, whereby the inorganic pore forming agent is removed by dissolution and a mesoporous carbon monolith is formed.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising, prior to extruding the precursor paste, preparing the precursor paste.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein preparing the precursor paste comprises: mixing together the carbon powder, the inorganic pore forming agent, and the extrusion aid to form a dry mixture;mixing together the carbon source resin, the organic pore forming agent, and the liquid carrier to form a liquid mixture; and mixing the liquid mixture with the dry mixture and compounding to form the precursor paste.

20. The method of claim of any preceding claim, wherein the curing temperature is sufficient to crosslink the carbon source resin without decomposing the organic pore forming agent.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the curing temperature is in a range from about 130°C to about 170°C.

22. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the carbonization temperature is in a range from 450°C to 900°C.

23. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the alkaline solution comprises water and a base selected from the group consisting of sodium hydroxide, ammonium hydroxide, and potassium hydroxide.

24. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the mesoporous carbon monolith comprises a mesoporous carbon honeycomb monolith.

25. The method of any preceding claim, further comprising, after exposing the carbonized extrudate to the alkaline solution: rinsing the mesoporous carbon monolith in water to remove the dissolved pore forming agent and the alkaline solution; and drying the mesoporous carbon monolith.

26. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the alkaline solution comprises ammonium hydroxide, and further comprising, after exposing the carbonized extrudate to the alkaline solution: heat treating the mesoporous carbon monolith to remove the dissolved pore forming agent and form amine functional groups on the mesoporous carbon monolith.

27. The method of any preceding claim, further comprising impregnating the mesoporous carbon monolith with a polyamine to form amine functional groups on the mesoporous carbon monolith.

28. The method of any preceding claim, further comprising activating the mesoporous carbon monolith using steam, CO2 or air to further increase surface area and porosity.

29. A mesoporous carbon monolith comprising: an extruded body comprising mesoporous carbon and including a plurality of open channels extending longitudinally therethrough, wherein the mesoporous carbon has a porous structure including: a porosity of at least 55%; a pore volume of at least about 0.5 ml / g; and a disordered arrangement of pores.

30. The mesoporous carbon monolith of claim 25 being a mesoporous carbon honeycomb monolith.

31. The mesoporous carbon monolith of claim 25 or 26, wherein the mesoporous carbon has a hierarchical porous structure.

32. The mesoporous carbon monolith of any preceding claim, wherein the pore volume is in a range from about 1 ml / g to about 2 ml / g.

33. The mesoporous carbon monolith of any preceding claim, wherein the porosity is in a range from about 60% to about about 75%.

34. The mesoporous carbon monolith of any preceding claim, wherein the mesoporous carbon comprises: an average pore diameter in a range from about 5 nm to about 12 nm as determined by Barrett- Joyner-Halenda (BJH) model; and / ora median pore size in a range from about 30 run to about 65 nm as determined by mercury infusion porosimetry (MIP).

35. The mesoporous carbon monolith of any preceding claim, wherein the mesoporous carbon comprises: a surface area in a range from about 580 to 700 m2 / g; a bulk density in a range from about 0.4 to about 0.6 g / ml; and / or an apparent density in a range from about 1.2 to about 1.5 g / ml.

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