Preparation and modification of activated carbon for benzene adsorption by steam activation in the presence of KOH

A series of activated carbons from Taixi anthracite were prepared by steam activation in the presence of KOH and then they were modified by different methods. The regulation of porosity and the modification of surface chemistry were carried out with the aim to improve the benzene adsorption capacity of activated carbon. The influences of KOH and activation process parameters including activation temperature, activation time and steam flow rate on porosity of activated carbon were evaluated, and the effect of modification methods on surface chemistry was investigated. Also, the relationship between benzene adsorption capacity and porosity and surface chemistry was analyzed. Results show that activation temperature is the dominant factor in the activation process; the introduction of KOH into the raw material can enhance the reactivity of char in activation process, meanwhile it shows a negative effect on the porosity development, especially on the mesopore development. Results of FTIR analysis indicate that anthracite-based activated carbon with condensed aromatics and chemically inert oxygen does not present the nature to be surface modified. Besides, benzene adsorption capacity has an approximate linear relationship with surface area and in our preparation, benzene adsorption capacity and surface area of activated carbon are up to 1210 m 2 /g and 423 mg/g, respectively.

Melamine Modification of Spherical Activated Carbon and Its Effects on Acetylene Hydrochlorination

Commercial spherical activated carbon（SAC） was modified by impregnation to enhance the catalytic properties of SAC in acetylene hydrochlorination through melamine modification. Different modification conditions for SAC with nitrogen were compared by changing the SAC-Melamine ratios. The effect of carbonization temperature on the modification was also investigated. Surface chemistry and adsorption properties of the modified and unmodified SACs were studied by scanning electron microscope（SEM）, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS）, elementary analysis, BET, and temperature-programmed desorption（TPD）. Moreover, the catalytic properties of SAC in acetylene hydrochlorination under differently modified conditions were also investigated. Elemental analysis showed that the nitrogen content of the modified SAC was greatly improved. XPS revealed that nitrogen mainly exists in Pyrrole nitrogen and Pyridine nitrogen. TPD showed that desorption of C2H2 was changed by modification. The conversion rate of acetylene was up to 70% under the following reaction conditions： temperature, 150 ℃; C2H2 hourly space velocity（GHSV）, 36 h-1; feed volume ratio V（HCl）/V（C2H2） = 1.15. The catalytic properties of SAC were improved significantly via melamine modification.

Acid/Base Treatment of Monolithic Activated Carbon for Coating Silver with Tunable Morphology

Silver coatings on the exterior surface of monolithic activated carbon（MAC） with different morphology were prepared by directly immersing MAC into [Ag（NH3）2]NO3 solution. Acid and base treatments were employed to modify the surface oxygenic groups of MAC, respectively. The MACs＇ Brunauer-EmmettTeller（BET） surface area, surface groups, and silver coating morphology were characterized by N2 adsorption, elemental analysis（EA）, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS）, and scanning electron microscopy（SEM）, respectively. The coating morphology was found to be closely related to the surface area and surface functional groups of MAC. For a raw MAC which contained a variety of oxygenic groups, HNO3 treatment enhanced the relative amount of highly oxidized groups such as carboxyl and carbonates, which disfavored the deposition of silver particles. By contrast, Na OH treatment significantly improved the amount of carbonyl groups, which in turn improved the deposition amount of silver. Importantly, lamella silver was produced on raw MAC while Na OH treatment resulted in granular particles because of the capping effect of carbonyl groups. At appropriate [Ag（NH3）2]NO3 concentrations, silver nanoparticles smaller than 100 nm were homogeneously dispersed on Na OH-treated MAC. The successful tuning of the size and morphology of silver coatings on MAC is promising for novel applications in air purification and for antibacterial or aesthetic purposes.

Adsorption of Cu(Ⅱ) from Aqueous Solution Using Activated Carbon Modified with Nitric Acid

The objective of the presented work was to assess the adsorption processes of Cu(Ⅱ) from aqueous solution onto a granular activated carbon (GAC) and a modified activated carbon (MAC) with nitric acid. Available surface functional groups, pH of the isoelectric point (pHIEP), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopes were obtained to characterize the GAC/MAC. Factors influencing Cu(Ⅱ) adsorption such as adsorbent dosage, pH of solution, and contact time of the adsorption onto the MAC/GAC had been investigated in a batch experiment. Experimental equilibrium data had been obtained and modelled using both Freundlich and Langmuir classical adsorption isotherms and the data fitted better to Langmuir isotherm. It was found that nitric acid modification increased the Cu(Ⅱ) adsorption capacity to 90.9 mg/g, which was higher than the unmodified carbon by 41%. Two simplified models including pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order equations were selected to follow the adsorption processes.