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In this study, nanoporous carbon material (NCM) specimens were synthesized from polymer raw materials (a mixture of furfural, hydroquinone, and urotropine). The influence of the conditions and parameters of the synthesis method (temperature, weight ratio of the activating agent to the precursor and contact time) on the NCM structure was examined. The effect of the weight ratio of the initial components on the properties of the resulting NCM was investigated, and the optimal composition of the ternary system of furfural, hydroquinone and urotropine was found. The results of nitrogen adsorption-desorption showed that NCM specimens obtained by varying the activation temperature were microporous but with different micropore volumes and the same pore size distribution. Varying the weight ratio of the activating agent (KOH) to the precursor made it possible to obtain microporous, micromesoporous, and mesoporous NCMs. NCM specimens with different pore hierarchy and different specific surface area were also obtained, including microporous NCMs (S BET : 1546–3030 m3/g; V mic /V t : 76.0–100%), micro- mesoporous NCMs (S BET : 3204–3516 m3/g; V mic /V t : 41.2–57.4% V mes /V t : 42.6–58.8%) and mesoporous NCMs (S BET : 3641–3649 m3/g; V mes /V t : 74.0–83.8%). Further, a mechanism for the development of pores during KOH activation of polymeric carbon precursor was proposed. The outcomes of this study signify that the NCM5/750/1 has a high adsorption capacity for CH 4 and has good prospects for monitoring CH 4 emissions and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. [Display omitted] • Carbon Energized Materials were synthesized using facile protocol. • Enhancement in KOH/precursor ratio leads to enhanced Methane adsorption. • The highest approximately 20 mmol/g of CH 4 adsorption was observed. • Mechanism for targeted regulation of the pore structure for efficient adsorbent was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Nanoporous carbon materials (NCMs) were developed for Methane Storage. • NCMs possessed high specific surface area ∼ 2722 m2/g with multimodal pore distribution. • Increase in pressure enhances the methane (CH 4) uptake. • The maximum CH 4 adsorption capacity was found to be ∼ 14.3 mmol/g. Nanoporous carbon materials (NCMs) were widely used as commercial adsorbents, due to their salient features like high specific surface area and a significant volume of micropores. The present research work considers the conversion of a mixture of compounds (furfural, hydroquinone, and urotropine) into a NCM, with properties suitable for adsorption and gas storage applications, through alkaline activation. The developed NCM have high surface area of ∼ 2722 m2/g with a pore volume of 1.08 cm3/g i.e. ∼ 80 % pores representing narrow micropores. Further, the density of the NCM is also a decisive parameter for the applications, in particular, methane (CH 4) storage. Moreover, the powdered NCM was compacted 2.5 times (to get a monolith NCM) with a slight change in the texture properties. The synthesized adsorbents were tested for the CH 4 adsorption, and they showed very good characteristics. Results obtained revealed that, the highest CH 4 adsorption capacity value, equal to ∼ 14.3 mmol/g at 10 MPa and 298 K, was achieved on the powdered NCM which after the compaction, to the monolith NCM decreases to ∼ 13.3 mmol/g at the same pressure. Moreover, the highest bulk methane adsorption capacity value was 336 cm3/cm3 which was achieved at 10 MPa and 298 K for the monolith NCM. Thus, this adsorbent with excellent CH 4 adsorption characteristics can be used in the adsorbed natural gas (ANG) technology to enhance the energy storage and improve the efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]