An international team of researchers demonstrated that pulverized coal powder can be converted into high-value nano-graphite in just 15 minutes. In a study published in the journal Nano-Structures & Nano-Objects , the scientists explain how they created an environment in a microwave oven to successfully convert raw coal powder into nano-graphite, which is used as a lubricant and in items ranging from fire extinguishers to lithium-ion batteries . In a microwave oven, sparks are generated inside a glass vial containing coal powder and copper foil. The result is polycrystalline graphite. (Image courtesy of the University of Wyoming). This “one-step method with metal-assisted microwave treatment” is a new approach that, in their view, could represent a simple and relatively inexpensive coal-conversion technology to make good use of Wyoming’s Powder River Basin coal . According to the team led by TeYu Chien from the University of Wyoming, while previous research has […]