Abstract: A reinforced carbon foam material is formed from carbon fibers incorporated within a carbon foam's structure. First, carbon fiber bundles are combined with a liquid resol resin. The carbon fiber bundles separate into individual carbon fiber filaments and disperse throughout the liquid resol resin. Second, the carbon fiber resin mixture is foamed thus fixing the carbon fibers in a permanent spatial arrangement within the phenolic foam. The foam is then carbonized to create a carbon fiber reinforced foam with improved graphitic characteristics as well as increased strength. Optionally, various additives can be introduced simultaneously with the addition of the carbon fiber bundles into the liquid resol, which can improve the graphitic nature of the final carbon foam material and/or increase the foam's resistance to oxidation.

Abstract: A process for preparing a gas permeable flexible graphite sheet is presented. The process includes providing graphite flakes; admixing the graphite flakes with a sacrificial additive to form a graphite mixture; compressing the graphite mixture into a sheet having sacrificial additive dispersed therethrough; and treating the sheet to at least partially remove the sacrificial additive to form a permeable flexible graphite sheet.