PREPARATION OF ACTIVATED CARBON FIBER AND THEIR XENON ADSORPTION PROPERTIES (II)-XENON ADSORPTION PROPERTIES

The adsorption of xenon from air has an interest in the monitoring of nuclear explosion or accident, or in the treatment of nuclear waste gas. In this paper, the pore structure of several series of activated carbon fibers has been characterized. The adsorption properties of xenon on these activated carbon fibers under different temperatures have been studied in details. The results show that the xenon adsorption amount on activated carbon fibers do not increase with specific surface area of adsorbents, but are closely related to their pore size distribution. Pores whose radius equal to or narrow than 0.4nm would be more advantageous to the adsorption of xenon.

PREPARATION OF ACTIVATED CARBON FIBER AND THEIR XENON ADSORPTION PROPERTIES (III)-ADSORPTION ON MODIFIED ACTIVATED CARBON FIBER

Structures of a series of activated carbon fibers were modified by impregnating them with organic and inorganic materials such as Methylene blue(Mb)、p-nitrophenol (PNP)、NaCl or by oxidizing with KMnO4 or HNO3. The influence of pore filling or chemical treatment on their xenon adsorption properties was studied. The experimental results show that Mb and PNP filling of activated carbon fibers result in the decrease of xenon adsorption capacities of these treated ACFs, which is due to the decrease of their surface area and micro-pore volume. However, the adsorption capacity increases greatly with oxidizing treatment of activated carbon fibers by 7mol/L HNO3.

STUDY ON THE PROPERTIES OF DIFFERENT ACTIVATED CARBON FIBERS AND THEIR ADSORPTION CHARACTERISTICS FOR FORMALDEHYDE

Porous structure and surface chemistry of activated carbon fibers obtained by differ-ent precursors and activation methods were investigated. Adsorption isotherms werecharacterized by nitrogen adsorption at 77K over a relative pressure range from 10 6to 1. The regularization method according to Density Functional Theory (DFT) wasemployed to calculate the pore size distribution in the samples. Their specific surfaceareas were calculated by BET method, micropore volume and microporous specificsurface area calculated by t-plot method and MPD by Horvath-Kawazoe equation. Mi-cropore volume of rayon-based ACF was higher than that of other samples. The staticand dynamic adsorption capacity for formaldehyde on different ACFs was determined.The results show that steam activated Rayon-based A CFs had higher adsorption capac-ity than that of steam and KOH activated PAN-A CFs. Breakthrough curves illustratedthat Rayon-ACFs had longer breakthrough time, thus they possessed higher adsorp-tion capacity for formaldehyde than that of PAN-ACFs. The entire sample had smalladsorption capacity and short breakthrough time for water. Rayon-A CFs had exccl-lent adsorption selectivity for formaldehyde than PAN-ACFs. And the samples withhigh surface areas had relatively high adsorption capacity for formaldehyde. Elementaicontent of different A CFs were performed. Rayon-based A CFs contained more oxygenthan PAN-ACFs, which may be attributed to their excellent adsorption capacity forformaldehyde.

Plasma Modification of Activated Carbon Fibers for Adsorption of SO_2

Viscose-based activated carbon fibers （VACFs） were treated by a dielectric-barrier discharge plasma under the feed gas of N2. The surface functional groups of VACFs were modified to improve the adsorption and catalysis capacity for SO2. The surface properties of the untreated and plasma-treated VACFs were diagnosed by SEM, BET, FTIR, and XPS, and the adsorption capacities of VACFs for SO2 were also compared and discussed. The results show that after the plasma treatment, the external surface of VACFs was etched and became rougher, while the surface area and the total pore volume decreased. FTIR and XPS revealed that nitrogen atoms were introduced onto the VACFs surface and the distribution of functional groups on the VACFs surface was changed remarkably. The adsorption characteristic of SO2 indicates that the plasmatreated VACFs have better adsorption capacity than the original VACFs due to the nitrogen functional groups and new functional groups formed in modification, which is beneficial to the adsorption of SO2.

Effects of Pre-oxidation Conditions on Adsorption Performance of Activated Carbon Fibers

In order to investigate the effects of pre-oxidation conditions on adsorption performance of activated carbon fibers ( ACFs) ,electrospun polyacrylonitrile ( PAN) fiber webs were adopted as precursors for preparing ACFs. Firstly,the webs were stabilized under different pre-oxidation conditions; secondly,the pre-oxidative fibers were chemically activated by high temperature treatment in nitrogen. Pre-oxidation temperature,heating rate,and treatment time are the main factors on affecting the adsorption performance of the ACFs. Scanning electron microscope ( SEM) , differential scanning calorimeter ( DSC ) ,and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy ( FTIR ) were used to characterize the structure and property of the pre-oxidative fibers,and the dynamic benzene adsorption capacity of benzene of ACFs was measured. The results indicate that the moderate pre-oxidation condition is necessary to prepare the ACFs with better adsorption capacity,and the optimal oxidation conditions are to increase from room temperature to 230 ℃ with a heating rate of 0. 75 ℃·min - 1 ,held at the peak temperature for 30 min.

STUDIES ON THE DYNAMIC COMPETITIVE ADSORPTION OF ORGANIC VAPORS ON THE ACTIVATED CARBON FIBERS ACTIVATED WITH PHOSPHORIC ACID

The dynamic competitive adsorption behaviors of different binary organic vapor mixtures on ACF-Ps under different operation conditions were investigated by gas chromatography in this paper. The studied mixtures included benzene/toluene, toluene/xylene, benzene/isopropylbenzene, ethyl acetate/toluene and benzene/ethyl acetate. Experimental results show that various ACF-Ps, as with ACF-W, can remove both vapors in binary vapor mixtures with over 99% of removal efficiency before the breakthrough point of the more weakly adsorbed vapor. In dynamic competitive adsorption, the more weakly adsorbed vapor not only penetrates early, but also will be displaced and desorbed consequently by stronger adsorbate and therefore produces a rolling up in the breakthrough curve. The ACF-Ps prepared at different temperatures have somewhat different adsorption selectivity. The feed concentration ratio of vapors, the length/diameter ratio and the thick of bed have effect on competitive adsorption. The competitive adsorption ability of a vapor is mainly related to its boiling point. Usually, the higher the boiling point, the stronger the vapor adsorbed on ACF-P.

Preparation of activated carbons and their adsorption properties for greenhouse gases:CH_4 and CO_2

Three kinds of activated carbons were prepared using coconut-shells as carbon precursors and characterized by XRD, FT-IR and texture property test. The results indicate that the prepared activated carbons were mainly amorphous and only a few impurity groups were adsorbed on their surfaces. The texture property test reveals that the activated carbons displayed different texture properties, especially the micropore size distribution. The adsorption capacities of the activated carbons were investigated by adsorbing CH4, CO2, N2 and O2 at 25 ？C in the pressure range of 0-200 kPa. The results reveal that all the activated carbons had high CO2 adsorption capacity, one of which had the highest CO2 adsorption value of 2.55 mmol/g at 200 kPa. And the highest adsorption capacity for CH4 of the activated carbons can reach 1.93 mmol/g at 200 kPa. In the pressure range of 0-200 kPa, the adsorption capacities for N2 and O2 were increased linearly with the change of pressure and K-AC is an excellent adsorbent towards the adsorption separation of greenhouse gases.

Adsorption characteristics of carbon tetrachloride from aqueous solution onto polyacrylonitrile-based activated carbon fiber

The isotherm,mechanism and kinetics of carbon tetrachloride(CT) adsorption by polyacrylonitrile-based activated carbon fiber(PAN-ACF) were investigated in batch reactors and a continuous flow reactor,and the regeneration of PAN-ACF was also studied.Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich(D-R) adsorption equations can well describe the adsorption isotherm.CT is mainly adsorbed on the exterior surface of PAN-ACF with low boundary layer effect and rate-controlling step of intra-particle diffusion.The adsorption dynamics in the batch reactor well fits with the pseudo-first-order model,and the breakthrough curves in the continuous flow reactor can be well described by the Yoon-Nelson model.The ACF can be recycled through thermal regeneration,whereas the adsorption capacity decreases from 7.87 to 4.98 mg/g after the fourth regeneration.78%-94%of CT can be removed from the wastewater of a fluorine chemical plant on a pilot scale,which confirms the efficacy of ACF under industrial conditions.The results indicate that PAN-ACF is applicable to CT removal from wastewater.

ORGANIC CHELATING REAGENT ON REDOX ADSORPTION OF ACTIVATED CARBON FIBER TOWARDS Au^(3+)

Organic chelating reagent influences upon the redox adsorption of activated carbon fiber towards Au3+ were systematically investigated. The experimental results indicated that the presence of organic chelating reagent on activated carbon fiber strongly affects adsorption capacity of activated carbon fiber towards Au3+. The reduction-adsorption amount of Au3+ increased three times by the presence of 8-quinolinol. Furthermore, The reduction-adsorption amount of Au3+ depended on the pH value of adsorption and temperature.

Gas phase tricholoethylene removal at low concentration using activated carbon fiber

The breakthrough adsorption behaviors of gas phase trichloroethylene in a packed bed of activated carbon fibers(ACF) were investigated. The specific surface area of the ACF was 600 m 2/g, 1400 m 2/g and 1600 m 2/g, respectively, and the concentration of trichloroethylene ranged from 270 mg/m 3 to 2700 mg/m 3. Results showed that the capacity of adsorption increased with increasing specific surface area, the relationship between the logarithms of 10% breakthrough time and concentration was approximately linear over the experimental range, the breakthrough time decreased with increasing temperature and humidity. The breakthrough curves at different inlet concentration or different temperature can be predicted by several simple theoretical models with good agreements.

STUDY ON THE FACTORS AFFECTING REDUCTION CAPACITIES OF ACTIVATED CARBON FIBERS

The reduction adsorption of silver diamminonitrate on different kinds of activated carbon fibers (ACF) has been studied in this paper. The effect of different parameters, including adsorption temperature, concentrations of activation agents, and activation time on the silver adsorption capacities of activated carbon fibers has been investigated. The results show that higher temperature in which the silver complex interacts with ACF, or higher concentration of activation agent, will make higher reduction adsorption capacities of ACFs. More over, ACFs activated with phosphoric acid have higher reduction capacities than those activated with zinc chloride or steam.

REMOVAL OF THIOL BY ACTIVATED CARBON FIBER

Pitch based activated carbon fiber (PACF) was prepared, and influences of preparing condition such as activated temperature and time on the yield, specific surface area of PACF and its adsorption behavior towards n-butanethiol were studied. The results showed that simple PACF could not remove n-butanethiol from n-hexane solution. Therefore, dispersion of suitable catalyst such as cobalt salt on PACF is needed. Cobalt salt dispersed PACF can remove n-butanethiol quickly.

TiO_2-loaded activated carbon fiber:Hydrothermal synthesis,adsorption properties and photo catalytic activity under visible light irradiation

TiO2-loaded activated carbon fibers （ACF） were prepared by a hydrothermal method. The samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, Fourier transform infrared （FTIR） spectrometry and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra （DRS）. SEM images showed that the TiO2 nanoparticles were deposited on the surface of ACF, and the particle size and loading amount of TiO2 were varied by changing the initial concentration of tetrabutyl titanate （TBOT）. The results of an ash experiment showed that the loading amounts of TiO2 were 18.4%, 43.3%, 52.5%, 75.1%, and 91.1% for initial concentrations of TBOT of 0.07,014, 0.21,0.28, and 0.35 tool/L, respectively, Physical interactions played an important role in the formation of TiO2/ACF composite fibers that absorb UV and visible light. Compared with those of ACF, improved adsorption and photocatalytic activity toward Rhodamine B （RhB） were observed for TiO2/ACF composite fiber. The Rhodamine B could be removed efficiently by TiO2/ACF composite fibers, and the TiO2 loading amount had a significant effect on the photocatalytic activity of TiO2/ACF composite fibers.

Preparation of activated carbon from sunflower straw through H_(3)PO_(4) activation and its application for acid fuchsin dye adsorption

With the development circular economy, the use of agricultural waste to prepare biomass materials to remove pollutants has become a research hotspot. In this study, sunflower straw activated carbon (SSAC) was prepared by the one-step activation method, with sunflower straw (SS) used as the raw material and H3PO4 used as the activator. Four types of SSAC were prepared with impregnation ratios (weight of SS to weight of H3PO4) of 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, and 1:5, corresponding to SSAC1, SSAC2, SSAC3, and SSAC4, respectively. The adsorption process of acid fuchsin (AF) in water using the four types of SSAC was studied. The results showed that the impregnation ratio significantly affected the structure of the materials. The increase in the impregnation ratio increased the specific surface area and pore volume of SSAC and improved the adsorption capacity of AF. However, an impregnation ratio that was too large led to a decrease in specific surface area. SSAC3, with an impregnation ratio of 1:3, had the largest specific surface area (1 794.01 m2/g), and SSAC4, with an impregnation ratio of 1:5, exhibited the smallest microporosity (0.052 7 cm3/g) and the largest pore volume (2.549 cm3/g). The adsorption kinetics of AF using the four types of SSAC agreed with the quasi-second-order adsorption kinetic model. The Langmuir isotherm model was suitable to describe SSAC3 and SSAC4, and the Freundlich isotherm model was appropriate to describe SSAC1 and SSAC2. The result of thermodynamics showed that the adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic. At 303 K, SSAC4 showed a removal rate of 97.73% for 200-mg/L AF with a maximum adsorption capacity of 2 763.36 mg/g, the highest among the four types of SSAC. This study showed that SAAC prepared by the H3PO4-based one-step activation method is a green and efficient carbon material and has significant application potential for the treatment of dye-containing wastewater.

Correlation of fractal pore-size distribution of activated carbon fiber with its adsorption for low concentration benzene vapor

Fractal pore-size distribution K(x) is given based on J(x) function proposed by Jaronic. Activated carbon fibers (ACF) with different surface areas are characterized by using two functions mentioned above. The present work studies the fractal pore-size distribution of ACF and adsorption isotherms of nonpolar benzene vapor on ACF, and thereby reveals the correlation between them.

Adsorption Models and Structural Characterization for Activated Carbon Fibers

The nitrogen adsorption isotherms at 77.69 K were measured for two samples of activated carbon fibers and their microstructures were investigated.Among established isotherm equations,the Dubinin-Radushkevich equation showed the best agreement with the experimental data,while the Langmuir equation showed a large deviation when employed at low relative pressures.The MP method,t-method andα_s-method were used to analyze the pore size distribution,The calculated average pore widths and BET(Brunauer-Emmett-Teller) surface areas for the sample A-13 were 0.86 nm and 1 286.60 m^2/g.while for the sample A-16,they were 0.82 nm and 1 490.64 m^2/g.The sample with larger pore width was more suitable to be used as additive in chemical heat pumps,while the other one could be used as adsorbent in adsorption refrigeration systems.

ADSORPTION OF DYES ON ACTIVATED CARBON FIBERS

The adsorption behavior of dyes on a variety of sisal based activated carbon fibers (SACF) has been studied in this paper. The results show that this kind of ACF has excellent adsorption capacities for some organic (dye) molecules.SACF can remove nearly all methylene blue,crystal violet,bromophenol blue and Eriochrome blue black R from water after static adsorption for 24h. at 30℃. The adsorption amounts can reach more than 400mg/g when adding 50 mg SACF into 50 ml dye solution.Under the same conditions,the adsorption amounts of xylenol orange fluorescein and Eriochrome black T wree lower.On the other hand,the adsorption amounts change along with the characteristics of adsorbents.The SACFs activated above 840℃,which have higher specific surface areas and wider pore radii,have higher adsorption amounts for the dyes.The researching results also show that the adsorption rates of dyes onto SACFs decrease by the order of methylene blue,Eriochrome blue black R and crystal violet.

Experimental and Theoretical Study of the Effect of Moisture on Methane Adsorption and Desorption by Activated Carbon at 273.5 K

Adsorption and desorption of methane by activated carbon （AC） at constant temperature and at various pressures were investigated. The effect of moisture was also studied. A volumetric method was used, up to 40 bar, at a temperature of 273.5 K. Results of a dry AC sample were compared with those obtained from a moist sample and two different ACs with different physical and surface properties were used. As expected, the results showed that the existence of moisture, trapped in the AC pores, could lead to a decrease in the amount of methane adsorbed and a decrease in the amount of methane delivered during desorption. To model the experimental results, a large variety of adsorption isotherms were used. The regressed parameters for the adsorption isotherms were obtained using the experimental data generated in the present study. The accuracy of the results obtained from the different adsorption isotherms was favorably compared.

Ammonia Removal from Rodent Habitat Operations in Space Using Phosphoric Acid Treated Activated Carbon

To accommodate long duration biology research with rodent habitats on the International Space Station while providing a healthy living and working environment for crewmembers, NASA Ames Research Center developed a new exhaust filter for odor control for the Animal Enclosure Module (AEM), which houses mice and rats. The new exhaust filter uses activated carbon pellets as adsorbents, with phosphoric acid (H3PO4) impregnated on the surface. The deodorization performance of the new exhaust filters for AEM units housed with mice was evaluated. The ammonia breakthrough time of the exhaust filters was also investigated. The results indicated that H3PO4 treated activated carbon exhibited a high ammonia adsorption capacity of more than 90%. Furthermore, the new exhaust filter can effectively control the odor from the AEM units for a 45-day (minimum) flight mission with a given animal biomass.