초록

A carbon based material produced from the consolidation of amorphous carbon by elevated temperature compression. The material having unique chemical and physical characteristics that lend themselves to a broad range of applications such as in electrical, electrochemical and structural fields.

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1. A processed carbon material comprising granular amorphous carbon that has been consolidated in a hot isostatic press under elevated temperature and pressure to produce an amorphous carbon material, wherein the temperature is in the range of about 200-1000° C. 2. The processed carbon material

1. A processed carbon material comprising granular amorphous carbon that has been consolidated in a hot isostatic press under elevated temperature and pressure to produce an amorphous carbon material, wherein the temperature is in the range of about 200-1000° C. 2. The processed carbon material of claim 1 wherein the amorphous carbon is ground before consolidation. 3. The processed carbon material of claim 1 wherein the amorphous carbon is activated carbon. 4. The processed carbon material of claim 1 wherein the amorphous carbon is powder activated carbon. 5. The processed carbon material of claim 1 wherein the consolidation is uniform throughout the carbon material. 6. The processed carbon material of claim 1 wherein the temperature is at least about 600° C. 7. The processed carbon material of claim 1 wherein the pressure is isostatic. 8. The processed carbon material of claim 1 wherein the pressure is in the range of about 500-50,000 psi. 9. The processed carbon material of claim 1 wherein the pressure is in the range of about 500-20,000 psi. 10. The processed carbon material of claim 1 wherein the desired pressure value is obtained and thereafter the temperature is ramped up to the desired value. 11. The processed carbon material of claim 1 wherein the carbon is maintained at the desired temperature and pressure for a set period of time in the range of about 0.5-10 hours. 12. The processed carbon material of claim 1 wherein the carbon is cooled from the elevated temperature at the rate of between about 300-800° C./hour. 13. The processed carbon material of claim 1 wherein the amorphous carbon is mixed with graphite fibers before consolidation. 14. The processed carbon material of claim 1 wherein the carbon material has a surface area of at least 800 m 2 /g. 15. The processed carbon material of claim 1 wherein the carbon material has a surface area of at least 1400 m 2 /g. 16. The processed carbon material of claim 1 wherein the carbon material loses less than about one third of its surface area relative to the surface area of the amorphous carbon. 17. The processed carbon material of claim 1 wherein the carbon material loses less than about 15% of its surface area relative to the surface area of the amorphous carbon. 18. The processed carbon material of claim 1 wherein the degree of porosity of the carbon material is greater than 20%. 19. The processed carbon material of claim 1 wherein the carbon material has resistivity values in the range of about 0.04 Ω·cm to 1.5 Ω·cm. 20. The processed carbon material of claim 1 wherein the carbon particles in the amorphous carbon material are interconnected. 21. The processed carbon material of claim 1 wherein the temperature and pressure are optimized to produce carbon electrode material. 22. The processed carbon material of claim 21 wherein the amorphous carbon is powder activated carbon, the temperature is at least about 600° C., and the pressure is in the range of about 500-20,000 psi. 23. The processed carbon material of claim 1 wherein the temperature and pressure are optimized to produce structural carbon material. 24. The processed carbon material of claim 23 wherein the temperature is at least about 800° C. and the pressure is in the range of about 2000-25,000 psi. 25. A process for the production of a carbon material comprising the steps:providing amorphous carbon; andconsolidating the amorphous carbon using elevated temperature compression without the use of a binder to produce an amorphous carbon material. 26. The process of claim 25 and further including the step of grinding the amorphous carbon before consolidation. 27. The process of claim 25 wherein the amorphous carbon is activated carbon. 28. The process of claim 25 wherein the consolidating is performed in a hot isostatic press. 29. The process of claim 25 wherein the consolidating is uniform throughout the carbon material. 30. The process of claim 25 wherein the con solidating is performed at a temperature in the range of about 200-2700° C. 31. The process of claim 25 wherein the consolidating is performed at a temperature in the range of about 600-1400° C. 32. The process of claim 25 wherein the consolidating is performed using isostatic pressure. 33. The process of claim 25 wherein the consolidating is performed using pressure in the range of about 500 psi to 50,000 psi. 34. The process of claim 25 wherein the consolidating is performed such that the desired pressure value is obtained and thereafter the temperature is ramped up to the desired value. 35. The process of claim 25 wherein the consolidating is performed for a set period of time in the range of about 0.5 hours to 5 hours. 36. The process of claim 25 and further including the step of mixing the amorphous carbon with graphite fibers. 37. The process of claim 25 wherein the consolidating is performed at an optimized temperature and pressure to produce carbon electrode material. 38. The process of claim 37 wherein the amorphous carbon is powder activated carbon, the temperature is in the range of about 600-1000° C., and the pressure in the range of about 500-20,000 psi. 39. The process of claim 25 wherein the consolidating is performed at an optimized temperature and pressure to produce structural carbon material. 40. The process of claim 39 wherein the temperature is in the range of about 800-1400° C. and the pressure in the range of about 2000-25,000 psi. 41. The process of claim 25 further including the step of cutting the carbon material. 42. A processed carbon material comprising amorphous carbon that has been consolidated under elevated temperature and pressure without the use of a binder to produce an amorphous carbon material. 43. A processed carbon material comprising amorphous carbon particles that have been consolidated under elevated temperature and pressure, wherein the amorphous carbon particles are coalesced without the use of a binder to form an amorphous carbon material. 44. A process for the production of a carbon material comprising the steps:providing amorphous carbon; andconsolidating the amorphous carbon using no binder and using elevated temperature compression at a temperature in the range of about 200-2700° C. and at a pressure in the range of about 500-50,000 psi to produce an amorphous carbon material. 45. A process for the production of a carbon material comprising:placing amorphous carbon without a binder in a hot isostatic press; andoperating the press at a temperature in the range of about 200-2700° C. and at a pressure in the range of about 500-50,000 psi to produce an amorphous carbon material. 46. A process for the production of a carbon material comprising:placing amorphous carbon in a hot isostatic press; andoperating the press to consolidate the amorphous carbon using elevated temperature compression without the use of a binding agent to form an amorphous carbon material.