In observation of developing new kinds of adsorbent for the storage of natural gas by adsorption

comparison of adsorption equilibrium of methane was made between the graphene sheets and the activated carbon.The graphene sheets and the activated carbon

which respectively has a specific surface area about 300 and 2074 m2·g-1

were selected and performed adsorption equilibrium tests of methane within temperature-pressure range respectively about 273-293 K and 0-8 MPa.A lattice theory based adsorption model and 10-4-3 interaction potential function were employed to determine the maximum surface concentration and the interaction potential from the adsorbent as well as among the adsorbate molecules within the adsorption layer.It shows that the interaction energy among methane molecules confined within the adsorbed layer upon the surface of the graphene sheets was larger than that upon the activated carbon.Conclusions are drawn that a more compact state of adsorbed methane molecules can be obtained where the graphene sheets is used

and the graphene sheets having a higher specific surface area could be a promising medium for natural gas storage.