Heteroatomic Modification of Solid-Waste-Based Mesoporous Carbon for Volatile Organic Compound Adsorption

Solid-waste-based activated carbon(AC)was utilized as a carbon source to synthesize a series of carbon-based functional material RAC-X(X=P and S,where P and S denote phosphoric and sulfuric acids,respectively).The toluene adsorption capacities of the regeneration AC(RAC)samples can be significantly improved by adopting the heteroatomic modification strategy.RAC-P and RAC-S have the same specific surface area(1156 m^(2)/g)and similar porous structures.However,they have different toluene adsorption capacities,with 316.22 mg/g for RAC-P and 460.12 mg/g for RAC-S,which are 1.6 and 2.4 times greater than that for RAC.The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements showed that the increase in the amount ofπ–π^(2)chemical bond over the AC surface results in the improvement of the toluene adsorption performance.The density functional theory results showed that the S-containing functional groups loaded near the defect sites of RAC-S promote toluene adsorption.Moreover,reusability tests showed that RAC-S still retains 86%of its adsorption activity after four consecutive adsorption–desorption experiments.This indicates that the heteroatomic modification method affords excellent toluene adsorption performance and recycling practicability,which not only is beneficial for achieving the rational utilization of solid waste resources but also provides a practical method for the efficient elimination of volatile organic compounds.

Peanut Shell Activated Carbon： Characterization, Surface Modification and Adsorption of Pb^2＋ from Aqueous Solution

Metal ion contamination of drinking water and waste water, especially with heavy metal ion such as lead, is a serious and ongoing problem. In this work, activated carbon prepared from peanut shell （PAC） was used for the removal of Pb^2＋ from aqueous solution. The impacts of the Pb25 adsorption capacities of the acid-modified carbons oxidized with HNO3 were also investigated. The surface functional groups of PAC were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared （FTIR） spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）, Boehm titration. The textural properties （surface area, total pore volume） were evaluated from the nitrogen adsorption isotherm at 77 K. The experimental results presented indicated that the adsorption data fitted better with the Langmuir adsorption model. A comparative study with a commercial granular activated carbon （GAC） showed that PAC was 10.3 times more efficient compared to GAC based on Langmuir maximum adsorption capacity. Further analysis results by the Langmuir equation showed that HNO3 [20% （by mass）] modified PAC has larger adsorption capacity of Pb^2＋ from aqueous solution （as much as 35.5 mg·g^-1）. The adsorption capacity enhancement ascribed to pore widening, increased cation-exchange capacity by oxygen groups, and the promoted hydrophilicity of the carbon surface.

Effect of surface modification of activated carbon on its adsorption capacity for NH_3

To investigate the effects of carbon surface characteristics on NH3 adsorption,coal-based and coconut shell activated carbons were modified by treatment with oxidants.The surface properties of the carbons were characterized by low temperature nitrogen sorption,by Boehm's titrations and by XPS techniques.NH3 adsorption isotherms of the original and the modified carbons were determined.The results show that the carbons were oxidized by HNO3 and(NH4)2S2O8,and that there was an increase in oxygen containing functional groups on the surface.However,the pore-size distribution of the coal-based carbons was changed after KMnO4 treatment.It was found that the NH3 adsorption capacity of the modified carbons was enhanced and that the most pronounced enhancement results from(NH4)2S2O8 oxidation.Under our experimental conditions,the capacity is positively cor- rected to the number of surface functional groups containing oxygen,and to the number of micro-pores.Furthermore,an empirical model of the relationship between NH3 adsorption and multiple factors on the carbon surface was fit using a complex regression method.

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.

Surface Modification of Commercial Activated Carbon (CAG) for the Adsorption of Benzene and Toluene

In this work, we determined the surface characteristics of natural (CA-1) and HNO3 treated (CA-2) CAG. Equilibrium, kinetics and breakthrough for adsorption of benzene and toluene by CA-1 and CA-2 were studied. Concentrations of benzene and toluene (mg/L) were determined by gas chromatography with headspace extraction. The data of adsorption kinetic and equilibrium were best fitted by pseudo-second order model and Langmuir isotherm, respectively. The best results of benzene and toluene adsorption from fixed bed were obtained at volumetric flow rate (Q1 = 70 mL/min) using adsorbent CA-2. The study of inferential statistics revealed that CA-1 and CA-2 adsorbents are statistically different at a 5% significance level.

Fate and Behavior of Tetracycline Resistance Genes in Activated Carbon Adsorption

The accessibility of tetracycline resistance gene (tetG) into the pores of activated carbon (AC), as well as the impact of the pore size distribution (PSD) of AC on the uptake capacity of tetG, were investigated using eight types of AC (four coal-based and four wood-based). AC showed the capability to admit tetG and the average reduction of tetG for coal-based and wood-based ACs at the AC dose of 1 g·L-1 was 3.12 log and 3.65 log, respectively. The uptake kinetic analysis showed that the uptake of the gene followed the pseudo-second-order kinetics reaction, and the uptake rate constant for the coal-based and wood-based ACs was in the range of 5.97 × 10-12 - 4.64 × 10-9 and 7.02 × 10-11 - 1.59 × 10-8 copies·mg-1·min-1, respectively. The uptake capacity analysis by fitting the obtained experiment data with the Freundlich isotherm model indicated that the uptake constant (KF) values were 1.71 × 103 - 8.00 × 109 (copies·g-1)1-1/n for coal-based ACs and 7.00 × 108 - 3.00 × 1010 (copies·g-1)1-1/n for wood-based ones. In addition, the correlation analysis between KF values and pore volume as well as pore surface at different pore size regions of ACs showed that relatively higher positive correlation was found for pores of 50 - 100 Å, suggesting ACs with more pores in this size region can uptake more tetG. The findings of this study are valuable as reference for optimizing the adsorption process regarding antibiotic resistance-related concerns in drinking water treatment.

A simplified adsorption model for water vapor adsorption on activated carbon

A simplified model was developed to describe the water vapor adsorption on activated carbon. The development of the simplified model was started from the original model proposed by DO and his co-workers. Two different kinds of carbon materials were prepared for water vapor adsorption, and the adsorption experiments were conducted at different temperatures(20-50 °C) and relative humidities(5%-99%) to test the model. It is shown that the amount of adsorbed water vapor in micropore decreases with the temperature increasing, and the water molecules form larger water clusters around the functional group as the temperature is up to a higher value. The simplified model describes reasonably well for all the experimental data. According to the fitted values, the parameters of simplified model were represented by the temperature and then the model was used to calculate the water vapor adsorption amount at 25 °C and 35 °C. The results show that the model can get relatively accurate values to calculate the water vapor adsorption on activated carbon.

Water vapor adsorption in activated carbon modified with hydrophilic organic salts

Five different kinds of hydrophilic organic salts were used to modify commercial activated carbon in order to prepare hydrophilic carbon materials. Properties of the samples were analyzed by surface area analyzer and SEM-EDX. The hydrophilic organic salts with different properties were introduced into activated carbon and significantly affected the properties of the samples.During adsorption experiments, the water vapor adsorption amount in modified samples increases by 0.57-17.12 times in temperature range from 303 to 323 K and at relative pressure below 0.50. Water molecules combined with surface hydrophilic groups through H-bonding exhibit good thermo stability. The effects of temperature, oxygen content and properties of the hydrophilic organic salts on water vapor adsorption were studied. It is indicated that water vapor adsorption in modified samples is mainly affected by the surface oxygen content. The carboxylate radicals in the hydrophilic organic salts greatly affect the micropore structure of the modified samples, while the metal ions in them exhibit limited influence. Different adsorption capacity of modified samples can be explained with the electronegativity of elements presented by Pauling.

Preparation of Solid Waste-Based Activated Carbon and Its Adsorption Mechanism for Toluene

Regenerated activated carbon(RAC)samples were prepared by carbon activation using waste activated carbon from solid waste resources as the carbon source precursor coupled with adding alkaline additives,and then were further modified by potassium ferrate to finally prepare high-performance carbon for VOCs adsorption.At the same time,the samples before and after modification were systematically studied through characterization techniques such as SEM,Raman spectrometry,FT-IR,XPS,and dynamic/static adsorption.The results showed that the specific surface area and pore volume of the RAC after modification by the strong oxidant potassium ferrate increased by 1.4 times;the degree of defects was enhanced and the content of oxygen-containing functional groups on the surface increased significantly.Among them,the sample modified with potassium ferrate for 24 h had the best dynamic toluene adsorption performance(375.5 mg/g),and the dynamic adsorption capacity was twice that of the original sample(192.8 mg/g).The static adsorption test found that the maximum adsorption capacity of RAC-6%K_(2)FeO_(4)+H_(2)SO_(4)-24h was 796 mg/g,which indicated that the potassium ferrate modification treatment could significantly increase the VOCs adsorption performance of RAC.In addition,through consecutive toluene adsorption-desorption cycle tests,it was found that the RAC-6%K_(2)FeO_(4)+H_(2)SO_(4)-24h sample still retained 91%of adsorption activity after the fifth regeneration cycle.This indicates that RAC-6%K_(2)FeO_(4)+H_(2)SO_(4)-24h has good cycle stability and great application value for the efficient purification of industrial waste VOCs gas.

NO adsorption and temperature programmed desorption on K_2CO_3 modified activated carbons

Fuel cell stacks as the automotive power source can be severely poisoned by a trace amount of NOx in atmosphere,which makes it necessary to provide clean air for fuel cell vehicles.In this work,activating commercial activated carbons with K2CO3 for the large enhancement of NO capture was studied.K2CO3 modified activated carbons(K2CO3 ACs)were prepared by impregnating activate carbons in K2CO3 solution under ultrasound treatment,followed by temperature programmed baking at 800 oC.The dynamic NO flow tests on K2CO3 ACs at room temperature indicated that NO adsorption capacity reached the maximum(96 mg/g)when K2CO3 loading was 19.5 wt%,which corresponded to a specific surface area of 1196.1 m2/g and total pore volume of 0.70 cm3/g.The ten-fold enhancement of NO adsorption on K2CO3 ACs compared to the unimpregnated activated carbon was mainly attributed to the formation of potassium nitrite,which was confirmed by FTIR and temperature programmed desorption measurements.Regeneration tests of NO adsorption on the optimum sample revealed that 76%of the NO adsorption capacity could be remained after the fourth cycle.

Study on Coconut Shell Activated Carbon Temperature Swing Adsorption of Benzene and Formaldehyde

Adsorption can be used to recover effectively the volatile organic gases(VOCs)in the exhaust gas from factories through using an appropriate adsorption bed.Due to form a physical or chemical bond,adsorption occurs between the porous solid medium and the liquid or gas multi component fluid mixture.The regeneration capa-city of the adsorbent is as important as the adsorption capacity and it determines the economics of the adsorption system.The regeneration of adsorbent can be realized through changing the pressure or temperature of the system.Here,activated carbon samples from coconut shell were prepared and characterized.Benzene or formal-dehyde in the mixed air was used as the adsorption object,and the adsorption experiment was carried out in a U-shaped bed.Discussed how adsorption was affected by activated carbon type,adsorbate and temperature.The results show that oxidation modifed activated carbon can increase the adsorption effect of form aldehyde,but will reduce the ad sorption effect of benzene,because their ad sorption mechanism is different.At 30℃,the saturated adsorption apacity of AC-0 for benzene is 437.0 mg/g.and that of AC-1 for formaldehyde is 670.5 mg/g.In the experimental range,it is found that the adsorption capacity increases with the decrease of temperature,and their changes are very consistent with the ftted ExpDecay1 function.

Effects of chemical modification on physicochemical properties and adsorption behavior of sludge-based activated carbon

This study aimed to explore the adsorption performance of sludge-based activated carbon(SBC)towards dissolved organic matters(DOMs)removal from sewage,and investigated the modification effect of different types of chemicals on the structure of synthesized SBC.Waste activated sludge(WAS)was used as a carbon source,and HCl,HNO 3,and Na OH were used as different types of chemicals to modify the SBC.With the aid of chemical activation,the modified SBC showed higher adsorption performances on DOMs removal with maximum adsorption of 29.05 mg/g and second-order constant(k)of 0.1367(L/mol/sec)due to the surface elution of ash and minerals by chemicals.The surface elemental composition of MSBC suggested that the content of C-C and C-O functional groups on the surface of modified sludge-based activated carbon(MSBC)played an important role on the adsorption capacities of MSBC towards DOMs removal in sewage.Additionally,the residual molecular weight of DOMs in sewage was investigated using a 3-dimension fluorescence excitationemission matrix(3 D-EEM)and high-performance size exclusion chromatography(HP-SEC).Results showed that the chemical modification significantly improved the adsorption capacity of MSBC on humic acids(HA)and aromatic proteins(APN),and both of Na OH-MSBC and HCl-MSBC were effective for a wide range of different AMW DOMs removal from sewage,while the HNO 3-MSBC exhibited poorly on AMW organics of 2,617 Da and 409 Da due to the reducing content of macropore.In brief,this study provides reference values for the impact of the chemicals of the activation stage before the SBCs application.

Sustainable Activated Carbons from Agricultural Residues Dedicated to Antibiotic Removal by Adsorption

The. objectives.of this study are to convert at laboratory s.cale agric.ultural residues into activated carbons （AC） with specific properties, to characterize them and to test them in adsorption reactor for tetracycline removal, a common antibiotic. Two new ACs were produced by direct activation with steam from beet pulp （BP-H2O） and peanut hu_lls （PH-H2O） in environmental friendly conditions BP-H2O and PH-H2Opresentcarbon content rangedcarbons with different intrinsic properties.

Ensuring water security by utilizing roof-harvested rainwater and lake water treated with a low-cost integrated adsorption-filtration system

Drinking water is supplied through a centralized water supply system and may not be accessed by communities in rural areas of Malaysia.This study investigated the performance of a low-cost, self-prepared combined activated carbon and sand filtration(CACSF) system for roofharvested rainwater and lake water for potable use. Activated carbon was self-prepared using locally sourced coconut shell and was activated using commonly available salt rather than a high-tech procedure that requires a chemical reagent. The filtration chamber was comprised of local,readily available sand. The experiments were conducted with varying antecedent dry intervals(ADIs) of up to 15 d and lake water with varying initial chemical oxygen demand(COD) concentration. The CACSF system managed to produce effluents complying with the drinking water standards for the parameters p H, dissolved oxygen(DO), biochemical oxygen demand(BOD5), COD, total suspended solids(TSS), and ammonia nitrogen(NH_3-N). The CACSF system successfully decreased the population of Escherichia coli(E. coli) in the influents to less than 30 CFU/m L. Samples with a higher population of E. coli(that is, greater than 30 CFU/m L) did not show 100% removal. The system also showed high potential as an alternative for treated drinking water for roof-harvested rainwater and class II lake water.

Application of Green Technology Using Biological Means for the Adsorption of Micro-Pollutants in Water

It is true that the world we have today is not the world we use to know. The Covid-19 pandemic has paralyzed all sector, hence the need for safety and enabling environment for mankind is of high importance. Adsorption technology is far the best and cheapest treatment technology for water and has extensively proven its worth for the uptake of micro-pollutant from surface, ground and water which are the major channels of home water. Over the years activated carbon is considered as the most common and universally used adsorbent for the eradication of different types of micro-pollutants from water. The contamination of surface water by micro-pollutant is a potential threat for the production of high quality and safe drinking water. Adsorption operation onto granulated activated carbon (GAC) in fixed-bed filters is often applied as a remedying step in the synthesis of safe and drinkable water. Activated carbon actively tends to act as a carrier material for a thin usually resistant layer of microorganisms (mostly bacteria) that forms on the coat of various surfaces (biofilm), hence biological simplification can be an alternative removal approach that can be adopted in granulated activated carbon filters. To evaluate the capacity of biofilm to biologically simplify micro-pollutants, it is very imperative to distinguish adsorption from biological simplification (biodegradation) as a removal mechanism. Experiment was carried out under the operating condition of a temperature range of 6?C to 20?C with biologically activated and autoclaved GAC to assess the biological simplification by the biofilm adsorbed on the GAC surface. Five micro-pollutants were selected as model compounds, of which some of them were biologically simplified by the GAC biofilm. Additionally, we observed that temperature can increase or decrease adsorption. Conclusively, comparison was made on the adsorption capacity of granulated activated carbon used for more than 50,000 beds.

Competitive effects of humic acid and wastewater on adsorption of Methylene Blue dye by activated carbon and non-imprinted polymers

Natural organic matter（NOM）, present in natural waters and wastewater, decreases adsorption of micropollutants, increasing treatment costs. This research investigated mechanisms of competition for non-imprinted polymers（NIPs） and activated carbon with humic acid and wastewater. Three different types of activated carbons（Norit PAC 200,Darco KB-M, and Darco S-51） were used for comparison with the NIP. The lower surface area and micropore to mesopore ratio of the NIP led to decreased adsorption capacity in comparison to the activated carbons. In addition, experiments were conducted for single-solute adsorption of Methylene Blue（MB） dye, simultaneous adsorption with humic acid and wastewater, and pre-loading with humic acid and wastewater followed by adsorption of MB dye using NIP and Norit PAC 200. Both the NIP and PAC 200 showed significant decreases of 27% for NIP（p = 0.087） and 29% for PAC 200（p = 0.096） during simultaneous exposure to humic acid and MB dye. There was no corresponding decrease for NIP or PAC 200 pre-loaded with humic acid and then exposed to MB. In fact, for PAC 200, the adsorption capacity of the activated carbon increased when it was pre-loaded with humic acid by 39%（p = 0.0005）. For wastewater, the NIP showed no significant increase or decrease in adsorption capacity during either simultaneous exposure or pre-loading. The adsorption capacity of PAC 200 increased by 40%（p = 0.001） for simultaneous exposure to wastewater and MB. Pre-loading with wastewater had no effect on MB adsorption by PAC 200.

Continuous flow removal of acid fuchsine by dielectric barrier discharge plasma water bed enhanced by activated carbon adsorption

Continuous processes which allow for large amount of wastewater to be treated to meet drainage standards while reducing treatment time and energy consumption are urgently needed. In this study, a dielectric barrier discharge plasma water bed system was designed and then coupled with granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorption to rapidly remove acid fuchsine (AF) with high efficiency. Effects of feeding gases, treatment time and initial concentration of AF on removal efficiency were investigated. Results showed that compared to the N2 and air plasmas treatments, O2 plasma processing was most effective for AF degradation due to the strong oxidation ability of generated activated species, especially the OH radicals. The addition of GAC significantly enhanced the removal efficiency of AF in aqueous solution and shorten the required time by 50%. The effect was attributed to the ability of porous carbon to trap and concentrate the dye, increasing the time dye molecules were exposed to the plasma discharge zone, and to enhance the production of OH radicals on/in GAC to boost the degradation of dyes by plasma as well as in situ regenerate the exhausted GAC. The study offers a new opportunity for continuous effective remediation of wastewater contaminated with organic dyes using plasma technologies.

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 isoclectric 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 Frenndlich and Langmuir dassicai adsorption isotherms and the data fitted better to Langmulr 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.

ADSORPTION OF CHLOROFORM AND TRICHLOROETHYLENE IN WATER WITH A NEW KIND OF HYPERCROSSLINKED RESINS

In this paper two newly developed hypercrosslinked resins were used to treat micropolluted drinking water and their static and kinetic adsorption were investigated at 293 K. The results show that these two adsorbents are superior to Amberlite XAD-4 for removing chloroform and trichloroethylene in aqueous solutions. The breakthrough capacity and the total capacities from mini-column adsorption studies for chloroform and trichloroethylene on XAD-4, ZH-01 and ZH-00 are calculated respectively under experimental conditions

Adsorption of Cd^(2+) in aqueous solutions using KMnO_4-modified activated carbon derived from Astragalus residue

Activated carbon obtained from Astragalus residue was chemically activated by KOH and modified with KMnO4.The samples were characterized by N2 adsorption,Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy,X-ray diffractometry,scanning electron microscopy,and Boehm titration.Accordingly,the original and modified carbon materials were used for the removal of Cd2+from aqueous solution by batch adsorption experiments.Results showed that the contents of oxygen-containing functional groups increased,and MnO2 was nearly uniformly deposited on the surface of activated carbon after modification by KMnO4.The adsorption kinetics was described by pseudo-second order model.Langmuir model fitted the adsorption-isotherm experimental data of Cd2+better than the Freundlich model.The maximum adsorption capacities of the activated carbon before and after modification for Cd2+were 116.96 and 217.00 mg/g,respectively.KMnO4 considerably changed the physicochemical properties and surface texture of activated carbon and enhanced the adsorption capacity of activated carbon for Cd2+.