• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.237-243
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• 2018

The surface chemistry of WCK-AC, WCN-AC and WCZ-AC which are activated carbons prepared from waste citrus peel using KOH, NaOH, and $ZnCl_2$ as activating chemicals were investigated. Also the relationships between the adsorption capacities of the target gases such as acetone, benzene and methyl mercaptan (MM) by the prepared activated carbons and the pore characteristics of each activated carbon were examined. According to XPS analysis of the prepared activated carbons, graphite and phenolic were the main surface functional groups of C1, and the sum of phenol, carbonyl and carboxyl groups increased in the order of WCK-AC > WCN-AC > WCZ-AC. The breakthrough curves obtained from the adsorption experiments for the three target gases in the fixed bed adsorption reactor were well simulated by the empirical equations proposed by Yoon and Nelson. The adsorption capacity for acetone, benzene and MM was larger for activated carbons with the larger sum of surface functional groups. The larger the specific surface area and the pore volume of activated carbons and the smaller the pore size, the better the adsorption performance. In particular, the specific surface area was the best criterion for the adsorption performance of activated carbons used in this study.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.61 no.3
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• pp.472-478
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• 2023

In this study, the acetaldehyde removal characteristics of activated carbon (AC) for air purifier filters were investigated using metal catalysts-impregnation and functional group-modification method. The AC with a high specific surface area(1700 m²/g) and micropores was prepared by KOH activation of coconut charcoal and the efficiency of catalyst and functional group immobilization was examined by varying the drying conditions within the pores after immersion. The physical properties of the prepared activated carbon were analyzed by BET, ICP, EA, and FT-IR, and the acetaldehyde adsorption performances were investigated using gas chromatography (GC) at various impregnation and modified conditions. As the concentration of impregnation solution increased, the amount of impregnated metal catalysts increased, while the specific surface area showed a decreasing trend. The adsorption tests of the metal catalyst-impregnated and functional group-modified activated carbons revealed that excellent adsorption performance in compositions MgO10@AC, CaO10@AC, EU10@AC, and H-U3N1@AC, respectively. The MgO10@AC, which showed the highest adsorption performance, had a breakthrough time of 533.8 minutes and adsorption capacity of 57.4 mg/g for acetaldehyde adsorption. It was found that the nano-sized MgO catalyst on the activated carbon improved the adsorption performance by interacting with carbonyl groups of acetaldehyde.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.15-28
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• 2017

The adsorptive removal properties of synthetic A4 zeolite were investigated against a total of 16 offensive odors consisting of reduced sulfur compounds (RSCs), nitrogenous compounds (NCs), volatile fatty acids (VFAs), and phenols/indoles (PnI). Removal of these odors was measured using a laboratory-scale impinger-based adsorption setup containing 25 g of the zeolite bed (flow rate of $100mL\;min^{-1}$). The high est and lowest breakthrough (%) values were shown for PnIs and RSCs, respectively, and the maximum and minimum adsorption capacity (${\mu}g\;g^{-1}$) of the zeolite was observed for the RSCs (range of 0.77-3.4) and PnIs (0.06-0.104), respectively. As a result of sorptive removal by zeolite, a reduction in odor strength, measured as odor intensity (OI), was recorded from the minimum of approximately 0.7 OI units (indole [from 2.4 to 1.6]), skatole [2.2 to 1.4], and p-cresol [5.1 to 4.4]) to the maximum of approximately 4 OI units (methanethiol [11.4 to 7.5], n-valeric acid [10.4 to 6.5], i-butyric acid [7.9 to 4.4], and propionic acid [7.2 to 3.7]). Likewise, when removal was examined in terms of odor activity value (OAV), the extent of reduction was significant (i.e., 1000-fold) in the increasing order of amy acetate, i-butyric acid, phenol, propionic acid, and ammonia.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.1280-1286
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• 2006

Three different virgin activated carbons made of each coal(Calgon), coconut(Samchully) and wood(Picabiol) based activated carbon(AC) were tested for an adsorption performance of 1,4-dioxane in a continuous adsorption column. Breakthrough behavior was Investigated that the breakthrough points of coal, coconut and wood based AC were observed as 3600 bed volumn(BV), 1440 BV and 144 BV respectively. Adsorption capacity(X/M) of coal, coconut and wood based AC was observed. The reported results of adsorption capacity showed that coal based AC was highest(578.9 ${\mu}g/g$), coconut based AC was intermediate(142.3 ${\mu}g/g$) and wood based AC was lowest(7.4 ${\mu}g/g$) due to increasing specific surface area. Moreover, carbon usage rates(CURs) for coal, coconut and wood based AC had been shown as 0.48 g/day, 1.41 g/day and 6.9 g/day respectively. The constant characteristic of the system, k of coal based AC was found to be 91.5 and k of coconut based AC was found to be 17.9. Removal efficiencies of 1,4-dioxane with different ozonation dosages(2 and 5 mg/L) for 20 min ozonation had been shown 38% and 87% respectively. There was no observation for biological removal of 1.4-dioxane by attached micro-organisms when used(3.1 years and over 5 years) biological activated carbon(BAC) without pretreatment of oxidation were employed. When a combination of ozonation(2 mg/L and 5 mg/L) and BAC process for $10{\sim}30$ min was applied, removal efficiency for 1,4-dioxine increased only $2{\sim}6%$ compared to only applying ozonation. Therefore removal efficiency of BAC process prior to using oxidation was proven to negligible. Consequently, the results presented in this paper provide a better insight into the adsorption performance of 1,4-dioxane. This observation suggests that using virgin activated carbon made of coal is the best selection for removal of 1,4-dioxane in the water treatment for an advanced treatment. It is clear from this research that longer EBCT for ozonation or higher ozone concentration are more effective operation methods for removal of 1,4-dioxane than longer EBCT in the BAC process.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.28 no.8
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• pp.878-883
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• 2006

Removal efficiency of As(III) was investigated with a pilot-scale filtration system packed with an equal amount(each 21.5 kg) of manganese-coated sand(MCS) in the bottom and iron-coated sand(ICS) in the top. Height and diameter of the used column was 200 cm and 15 cm, respectively. The As(III) solution was introduced into the bottom of the filtration system with a peristaltic pump at a speed of $5{\times}10^{-3}$ cm/s over 148 days. Breakthrough of total arsenic in the mid-sampling position(end of the MCS bed) and final-sampling position(end of the ICS bed) was started after 18 and 44 days, respectively, and then showed a complete breakthrough after 148 days. Although the breakthrough of total arsenic in the mid-sampling position was started after 18 days, the concentration of As(III) in this effluent was below 50 ppb up to 61 days. This result indicates that MCS has a sufficient oxidizing capacity to As(III) and can oxidize 92 mg of As(III) with 1 kg of MCS up to 61 days. When a complete breakthrough of total arsenic occurred, the removed total arsenic by MCS was calculated as 79.0 mg with 1 kg MCS. As variation of head loss is small at each sampling position over the entire reaction time, it was possible to operate the filtration system with ICS and MCS for a long time without a significant head loss.

• Clean Technology
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.60-66
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• 2009

Adsorptive removal of tetrahydrothiophene (THT) and tert-butylmercaptan (TBM) that were widely used sulfur odorants in pipeline natural gas was studied using various ion-exchanged NaY zeolites at ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure. In order to improve the adsorption ability, ion exchange was performed on NaY zeolites with alkali metal cations of $Li^+,\;Na^+,\;K^+$ and transition metal cations of $Cu^{2+},\;Ni^{2+},\;Co^{2+},\;Ag^+$. Among the adsorbents tested, Cu-NaY and Ag-NaY showed good adsorption capacities for THT and TBM. These good behaviors of removal of sulfur compound for Cu-NaY and Ag-NaY zeolites probably was influenced by their acidity. The adsorption capacity for THT and TBM on the best adsorbent Cu-NaY-0.5, which was ion exchanged with 0.5 M copper nitrate solution, was 1.85 and 0.78 mmol-S/g at breakthrough, respectively. It was the best sulfur capacity so far in removing organic sulfur compounds from fuel gas by adsorption on zeolites. While the desorption activation energy of TBM on the Cu-NaY-0.5 was higher than NaY zeolite, the difference of THT desorption activation energy between two zeolites was comparatively small.

• Clean Technology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.121-127
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• 2013

The objective of this study is optimization of extrusion process for preparation of pellet-type adsorbents employed with alum sludge. Effects of water content and methyl cellulose as a binder on the possibility of extrusion and physical properties of pellet-type adsorbents were investigated. The physical characteristics of the pellet-type adsorbents were studied using nitrogen adsorption and compression strength. With a ratio of water to sludge, 63/100, the adsorbent was well extruded with a cylindrical form and the compressive strength was the highest. With increasing methyl cellulose content, the compressive strength of pellet-type adsorbent could be improved, but the specific surface area decreased. The breakthrough time of the hydrogen sulfide could be increased significantly through calcination and the breakthrough capacity reached to 1,700 mg/g, which seems to be due to increase of surface area during calcination.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.323-334
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• 2020

Adsorption by granule activated carbon(GAC) is recognized as an efficient method for the removal of perfluorinated compounds(PFCs) in water, while the poor regeneration and exchange cycles of granule active carbon make it difficult to sustain adsorption capacity for PFCs. In this study, the behavior of PFCs in the effluent of wastewater treatment plant (S), the raw water and the effluents of drinking water treatment plants (M1 and M2) located in Nakdong river waegwan watershed was monitored. Optimal regeneration and exchange cycles was also investigated in drinking water treatment plants and lab-scale adsorption tower for stable PFCs removal. The mean effluent concentration of PFCs was 0.044 0.04 PFHxS g/L, 0.000 0.00 PFOS g/L, 0.037 0.011 PFOA g/L, for S wastewater treatment plant, 0.023 0.073 PFHxS g/L, 0.000 0.00 PFOS g/L, 0.013 0.008 PFOA g/L for M1 drinking water treatment plant and 0.023 0.073 PFHxS g/L, 0.000 0.01 PFOS g/L, 0.011 0.009 PFOA g/L for M2 drinking water treatment plant. The adsorption breakthrough behaviors of PFCs in GAC of drinking water treatment plant and lab-scale adsorption tower indicated that reactivating carbon 3 times per year suggested to achieve and maintain good removal of PFASs. Considering the results of mass balance, the adsorption amount of PFCs was improved by using GAC with high-specific surface area (2,500㎡/g), so that the regeneration cycle might be increased from 4 months to 10 months even if powdered activated carbon(PAC) could be alternatives. This study provides useful insights into the removal of PFCs in drinking water treatment plant.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.669-675
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• 2006

Toluene of aromatic compounds, MEK of ketones and IPA of alcohols were extremely used as VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) on the getting into step with industrial process. The adsorption characteristics of three component solvent vapors (Toluene-MEK-IPA) on the activated carbonaceous adsorbents such as AC, ACF and AC+ACF were investigated in a stainless steel fixed bed adsorption experimental apparatus in order to identify those carbons for eliminating and recovering solvent vapors from industrial emission sources. The used activated carbonaceous adsorbents were pelletized commercial activated carbon and activated carbon fiber. The breakthrough curves and adsorption capacity have been obtained at atmospheric pressure in a adsorption fixed bed. It has been found that non-polar and larger molecules have been adsorbed better than polar and smaller molecules. Especially, alcohols and ketones were poorly adsorbed due to competitive adsorbability in ternary mixture system. However, it could be overcome by employment of activated carbonaceous adsorbent which have different porosity distribution appropriately.

• Journal of odor and indoor environment
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.372-380
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• 2018

To abate the problem of odor from restaurants, a hybrid adsorbent consisting of organic and inorganic materials was developed and evaluated using acetaldehyde as a model compound was deveioped and evaluated. Powders of activated carbon, bentonite, and calcium hydroxide were mixed and calcinated to form adsorbent structure. The surface area of the hybrid adsorbent was smaller than that of high-quality activated carbon, but its microscopic image showed that contours and pores were developed on its surface. To determine its adsorption capacity, both batch isotherm and continuous flow column experiments were performed, and these results were compared with those using commercially available activated carbon. The isotherm tests showed that the hybrid adsorbent had a capacity 40 times higher than that of the activated carbon. In addition, the column experiments revealed that breakthrough time of the hybrid adsorbent was 2.5 times longer than that of the activated carbon. These experimental results were fitted to numerical simulations by using a homogeneous surface diffusion model (HSDM); the model estimated that the hybrid adsorbent might be able to remove acetaldehyde at a concentration of 40 ppm for a 5-month period. Since various odor compounds are commonly emitted as a mixture when meat is barbecued, it is necessary to conduct a series of experiments and HSDM simulations under various conditions to obtain design parameters for a full-scale device using the hybrid adsorbent.