GB646711A - Improvements in or relating to a process of forming a highly reactive carbon, and the highly reactive carbon resulting from said process - Google Patents

Abstract

A highly reactive carbon is prepared by mixing a hydrocarbonaceous substance with at least 60 per cent, up to, say, 110 per cent, of the stoichiometric proportion of sulphur to the hydrogen content of the substance, heating the mixture to about 649 DEG C. while maintaining the sulphur in liquid phase to effect the production of sulphurous compounds, and decomposing the mixture at 649-982 DEG C. to leave a carbon residue. Suitable hydrocarbons are preferably unsaturated and have a boiling point above 175 DEG C. and softening points below 200 DEG C., such as coal, petroleum cracked residuums, coal tar or petroleum pitches, and paraffin waxes. A liquid hydrocarbon and molten sulphur may be initially heated, with agitation, under atmospheric or superatmospheric pressure, at 150-260 DEG C. until a major part of the sulphur has reacted before the further heating at 649-982 DEG C. to distil off hydrogen sulphide. The initial liquid phase reaction may be accelerated by adding vulcanization accelerating agents for rubber such as benzothiazole derivatives, thiouram sulphides, salts of dithio acids, guanidine derivatives and aldehyde amines. The reactive carbon may be combined with additional sulphur at, say, 700-982 DEG C. to form carbon disulphide in a batch or continuous process, e.g. by suspending or fluidizing the finely-divided carbon in sulphur vapour.