TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Process: The phenol-formaldehyde-xerogel is pyrolyzed after the drying step and thus transferred into carbon-xerogel. The process uses an acid or a base, preferably hydrochloric acid or sodium hydroxide as catalyst. The step of gelling takes place at 20-120 degrees C. The process does not contain solvent exchange process. The phenol-formaldehyde-xerogel is carbonized at greater than 600 degrees C under an inert gas atmosphere. The carbon xerogel is activated by an oxygen-containing gas or a salt melt at greater than 500 degrees C or by an acid or a base at a temperature below 200 degrees C. The monolithic xerogel is reduced into granulate or powder form by impacting mechanical forces such as grinding. Preferred Components: The carbon xerogel exists in granulate or powder form after a further treatment. The solvent is water, a ketone or an alcohol, preferably n-propanol. The molar phenol-to-catalyst ratio is 0.1-30. The molar formaldehyde-to-phenol ratio is 0.5-20. The mass proportion of the reactant phenol and formaldehyde in the total solution is 5-60%. EXAMPLE - In a beaker, phenol (3.66 g) and formaldehyde solution (37% formaldehyde aqueous solution stabilized with 10% methanol) (6.24 g) was added and mixed with n-propanol ( 26.27 g ), where the molar ratio of formaldehyde to phenol was 2 and the concentration of reactant phenol and formaldehyde to the mass of the total solution was 15%. The solution was stirred with a magnetic stirrer, until the phenol was completely dissolved. Subsequently, 37% hydrochloric acid (3.83 g) was added, where the molar ratio of phenol to the catalyst was 1. The solution was then poured into a 10 cm high rolled rim glass with a diameter of 3 cm and the rolled rim glass was hermetically sealed. The rolled rim glass was heated together with the sample for 26 hours in an oven at 85 degrees C. After 26 hours, a monolithic, organic wet-gel was obtained. The organic wet-gel was then subjected to a convection drying oven for 70 hour at 65 degrees C to obtain monolithic, organic phenol-formaldehyde-xerogel with a macroscopic density of 0.37 g/cm3.