Description:    In this study, high surface area porous carbons were synthesized by chemical activation using petroleum coke as the precursor and KOH as the activation agent. The pore structure of the as-synthesized activated carbons was characterized by nitrogen adsorption, and their CO 2 sorption capacities were measured by a magnetic suspension balance at 1 and 10 bar, respectively. The effects of activated carbon preparation parameters (preheating temperature, preheating time, activation time, heating rate during the pyrolysis, and particle size of the precursor) on porous texture, CO 2 adsorption capacity, and CO 2 /N 2 selectivity of the activated products were investigated. It has been found that at 1 bar, the CO 2 adsorption capacity is determined by the micropore contribution, i.e., the ratio between micropore surface area and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area of the sorbents, while at 10 bar, CO 2 adsorption capacity is related to the BET surface area of the activated products. The maximum CO 2 adsorption uptake of 15.1 wt% together with CO 2 /N 2 selectivity of 9.4 at 1 bar were obtained for a sample activated at 700 °C indicating its high potential in the capture of CO 2 . Content Type Journal Article Pages 1-12 DOI 10.1007/s11270-012-1387-y Authors Xupei Zhu, College of Chemistry and Life Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang 321004, People’s Republic of China Yi Fu, College of Chemistry and Life Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang 321004, People’s Republic of China Gengshen Hu, Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Advanced Catalysis Materials, Institute of Physical Chemistry, Zhejiang Normal University, Zhejiang Jinhua, 321004 People’s Republic of China Yang Shen, College of Chemistry and Life Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang 321004, People’s Republic of China Wei Dai, College of Chemistry and Life Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang 321004, People’s Republic of China Xin Hu, College of Chemistry and Life Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang 321004, People’s Republic of China Journal Water, Air, & Soil Pollution Online ISSN 1573-2932 Print ISSN 0049-6979 Journal Volume Volume 224 Journal Issue Volume 224, Number 1