Removal of lead(II) from aqueous solutions by activated carbon developed from surplus sludge

Activated carbon(AC) was prepared from surplus sludge using chemical activation method with the assistance of ZnCl2. The influences of process parameters on the AC's specific surface area and adsorption capacity for Pb2+ were examined to optimize these parameters. The optimal conditions for the preparation of AC were determined to be activation temperature of 500 °C, activation time of 1 h, impregnation ratio of 1:1(solid-to-liquid volume) with the 30% ZnCl2 solution(mass fraction), giving the BET surface area of 393.85 m2/g and yield of 30.14% with 33.45% ash. Also, the pyrolysis temperature was found to be the most important parameter in chemical activation. FTIR spectra provided the evidence of some surface structures such as C=C and C—O—C. In the adsorption studies, a rise in solution pH led to a significant increase in adsorption capacity when the pH value varied from 3.0 to 7.0, and the optimal pH for removal of Pb2+ was 7.0. It was observed that the pseudo-second-order equation provided better correlation for the adsorption rate than the pseudo-first-order and the Langmuir model fitted better than the Freundlich model for adsorption isotherm. The adsorption capacity of AC to Pb2+ was 11.75 mg/L at solution pH 7.0, the equilibrium time 480 min and 25 °C. Moreover, the adsorption process is endothermic according to the value of enthalpy change.

Removal of phenol by activated carbons prepared from palm oil mill effluent sludge

The study was attempted to produce activated carbons from palm oil mill effluent （POME） sludge. The adsorption capacity of the activated carbons produced was evaluated in aqueous solution of phenol. Two types of activation were followed, namely, thermal activation at 300, 500 and 800%, and physical activation at 150% （boiling treatment）. A control （raw POME sludge） was used to compare the adsorption capacity of the activated carbons produced. The results indicated that the activation temperature of 800℃ showed maximum absorption capacity by the activated carbon （POME 800） in aqueous solution of phenol. Batch adsorption studies showed an equilibrium time of 6 h for the activated carbon of POME 800. It was observed that the adsorption capacity was higher at lower values ofpH （2--3） and higher value of initial concentration of phenol （200--300 mg/L）, The equilibrium data were fitted by the Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms. The adsorption of phenol onto the activated carbon POME 800 was studied in terms of pseudo-first and second order kinetics to predict the rate constant and equilibrium capacity with the effect of initial phenol concentrations. The rate of adsorption was found to be better correlation for the pseudo-second order kinetics compared to the first order kinetics.

From pollutant to solution of wastewater pollution: Synthesis of activated carbon from textile sludge for dye adsorption

Adsorption is an important process in wastewater treatment,and conversion of waste materials to adsorbent offers a solution to high material cost related to the use of commercial activated carbon.This study investigated the adsorption behaviour of Reactive Black 5（RB5）and methylene blue（MB）onto activated carbon produced from textile sludge（TSAC）.The activated carbon was synthesized through chemical activation of precursor followed with carbonization at 650℃ under nitrogen flow.Effects of time（0–200 min）,pH（2–10）,temperature（25–60℃）,initial dye concentration（0–200 mg·L^-1）,and adsorbent dosage（0.01–0.15 g）on dye removal efficiency were investigated.Preliminary screening revealed that TSAC synthesized via H2SO4activation showed higher adsorption behaviour than TSAC activated by KCl and ZnCl2.The adsorption capacity of TSAC was found to be 11.98 mg·g^-1（RB5）and 13.27 mg·g^-1（MB）,and is dependent on adsorption time and initial dye concentration.The adsorption data for both dyes were well fitted to Freundlich isotherm model which explains the heterogeneous nature of TSAC surface.The dye adsorption obeyed pseudo-second order kinetic model,thus chemisorption was the controlling step.This study reveals potential of textile sludge in removal of dyes from aqueous solution,and further studies are required to establish the applicability of the synthesized adsorbent for the treatment of waste water containing toxic dyes from textile industry.

High adsorption selectivity of activated carbon and carbon molecular sieve boosting CO_(2)/N_(2) and CH_(4)/N_(2) separation

Flue gas and coal bed methane are two important sources of greenhouse gases.Pressure swing adsorption process has a wide range of application in the field of gas separation,and the selection of adsorbent is crucial.In this regard,in order to assess the better adsorbent for separating CO_(2) from flue gas and CH_(4) from coal bed methane,adsorption isotherms of CO_(2),CH_(4) and N_(2) on activated carbon and carbon molecular sieve are measured at 303.15,318.15 and 333.15 K,and up to 250 kPa.The experimental data fit better with Langmuir 2 compared to Langmuir 3 and Langmuir-Freundlich models,and Clausius-Clapeyron equation was used to calculate the isosteric heat.Both the order of the adsorbed amount and the adsorption heat on the two adsorbents are CO_(2)>CH_(4)>N_(2).The adsorption kinetics are calculated by the pseudo-first kinetic model,and the order of adsorption rates on activated carbon is N_(2)-CH_(4)>CO_(2),while on carbon molecular sieve,it is CO_(2)-N_(2)>CH_(4).It is shown that relative molecular mass and adsorption heat are the primary effect on kinetics for activated carbon,while kinetic diameter is the main resistance factor for carbon molecular sieve.Moreover,the adsorption selectivity of CH_(4)/N_(2) and CO_(2)/N_(2) were estimated with the ideal adsorption solution theory,and carbon molecular sieve performed best at 318.15 K for both CO_(2) and CH_(4) separation.The study suggested that activated carbon is a better choice for separating flue gas and carbon molecular sieve can be a strong candidate for separating coal bed methane.

Waste Activated Sludge Alkaline Fermentation Liquid as Carbon Source for Biological Nutrients Removal in Anaerobic Followed by Alternating Aerobic-Anoxic Sequencing Batch Reactors

Activated sludge process has been widely used to remove phosphorus and nitrogen from wastewater. However,the nitrogen and phosphorus removal is sometimes unsatisfactory due to the low influent COD.Another problem with the activated sludge process is that large amount of waste activated sludge is produced,which needs further treatment.In this study,the waste activated sludge alkaline fermentation liquid was used as the main carbon source for phosphorus and nitrogen removal under anaerobic followed by alternating aerobic-anoxic conditions,and the results were compared with those using acetic acid as the carbon source.The use of alkaline fermentation liquid not only affected the transformations of phosphorus,nitrogen,intracellular polyhydroxyalkanoates and glycogen, but also led to higher removal efficiencies for phosphorus and nitrogen compared with acetic acid.It was observed that ammonium was completely removed with either alkaline fermentation liquid or acetic acid as the carbon source. However,the former resulted in higher removal efficiencies for phosphorus(95%)and nitrogen(82%),while the latter showed lower ones(87%and 74%,respectively).The presence of a large amount of propionic acid in the alkaline fermentation liquid was one possible reason for its higher phosphorus removal efficiency.Exogenous instead of endogenous denitrification was the main pathway for nitrogen removal with the alkaline fermentation liquid as the carbon source,which was responsible for its higher nitrogen removal efficiency.It seems that the alkaline fermentation liquid can replace acetic acid as the carbon source for phosphorus and nitrogen removal in anaerobic fol- lowed by alternating aerobic-anoxic sequencing batch reactor.

Enhanced biological nutrient removal in modified carbon source division anaerobic anoxic oxic process with return activated sludge pre-concentration

A pilot-scale modified carbon source division anaerobic anoxic oxic(AAO) process with pre-concentration of returned activated sludge(RAS) was proposed in this study for the enhanced biological nutrient removal(BNR) of municipal wastewater with limited carbon source. The influent carbon source was fed in step while a novel RAS pre-concentration tank was adopted to improve BNR efficiency, and the effects of an influent carbon source distribution ratio and a RAS pre-concentration ratio were investigated. The results show that the removal efficiency of TN is mainly influenced by the carbon source distribution ratio while the TP removal relies on the RAS pre-concentration ratio. The optimum carbon source distribution ratio and RAS pre-concentration ratio are 60% and 50%, respectively, with an inner recycling ratio of 100% under the optimum steady operation of pilot test, reaching an average effluent TN concentration of 9.8 mg·L-1with a removal efficiency of 63% and an average TP removal efficiency of 94%. The mechanism of nutrient removal is discussed and the kinetics is analyzed. The results reveal that the optimal carbon source distribution ratio provides sufficient denitrifying carbon source to each anoxic phase, reducing nitrate accumulation while the RAS pre-concentration ratio improves the condition of anaerobic zone to ensure the phosphorus release due to less nitrate in the returned sludge. Therefore, nitrifying bacteria, denitrifying bacteria and phosphorus accumulation organisms play an important role under the optimum condition, enhancing the performance of nutrient removal in this test.

Kinetics of continuous biodegradation of pesticide organic wastewater by activated carbon-activated sludge

Organic triazophos wastewater was continuously treated with Rhodopseudomonas capsulatus and activated carbon and activated sludge system(PACT AS) in a plug bioreactor. A kinetic model of PACT AS wastewater treatment system was established to provide an useful basis for further simulate scale up treatment of toxic organic wastewater.

Systematic physicochemical characterization,carbon balance and cost of production analyses of activated carbons derived from(Co)-HTC of coal discards and sewage sludge for hydrogen storage applications

Hydrothermal carbonization(HTC)technologies for producing value-added carbonaceous material(hydrochar)from coal waste and sewage sludge(SS)waste might be a long-term recycling strategy for hydrogen storage applications,cutting disposal costs and solving waste disposal difficulties.In this study,hydrochars(HC)with high carbon content were produced using a combination of optimal HTC(HTC and Co-HTC)and chemical activation of coal tailings(CT),coal slurry(CS),and a mixture of coal discard and sewage sludge(CB).At 850℃and 800℃,respectively,with a KOH/HC ratio of 4:1 and a residence time of 135 min,activated carbons(ACs)with the highest Brunauer–Emmett–Teller specific surface(S_(BET))of 2299.25 m^(2)g^(−1)and 2243.57 m^(2)g^(−1)were obtained.The hydrogen adsorption capability of the produced ACs was further studied using gas adsorption isotherms at 77 K.At 35 bars,the values of hydrogen adsorbed onto AC-HCT(AC obtained from HTC of CT),AC-HCS(AC obtained from HTC of CS),and AC-HCB(AC obtained from HTC of the blending of coal discard(CD)and SS)were approximately 6.12%,6.8%,and 6.57%in weight,respectively.Furthermore,the cost of producing synthetic ACs for hydrogen storage is equivalent to the cost of commercial carbons.Furthermore,the high proportion of carbon retained(>70%)in ACs synthesized by HTC from CD and SS precursors should restrict their potential carbon emissions.

Adsorption behavior of activated carbon for the elimination of zearalenone during bleaching process of corn oil

Zearalenone is a mycotoxin produced by Fusarium species.It frequently contaminates cereals used for foods or animal feeds,especially deposited in crude corn oil.Certain amounts of zearalenone can be removed during refining processes.In this study,we studied the influence of activated carbon and six industial absorbents(zeolite,diatomite,attapulgite,perlite,montmorillonite and activated clay)on the elimination of zearalenone during bleaching process of corn oil and explored the absorption mechanism of activated carbon.Results showed that activated carbon had an excellent adsorption capacity of zearalenone compared with the other six industrial adsorbents.For activated carbon,a high removal rate of zearalenone(exceeding 83%)from heavily zearalenone-polluted corn oil was achieved and the removal rate of zearalenone was kept above 60%after five regeneration cycles.The research on the adsorption mechanism of activated carbon showed that Freundlich adsorption isotherm model and pseudo-second-order kinetic model could well described the adsorption process.The thermodynamic study demonstrated that adsorption process was spontaneous and exothermic.Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy further revealed that activated carbon was effectively combined with zearalenone viaπ-πinteraction.Thus,activated carbon is an efficient and suitable adsorbent to control the levels of zearalenone during bleaching process of corn oil.This study not only proposed a systematic research scheme for the mechanism study of activated carbon for the elimination of zearalenone in corn oil,but also provided the scientific basis for developing effective methods to eliminate zearalenone in refined vegetable oils.

Estimation of the Isotherms of Phenol on Activated Carbons and Polymeric Adsorbents under Supercritical Condition

A method named as 'volume-expanding and pressure-reducing adsorption' is proposed. It can be used to measure the isotherms under supercritical condition. The adsorption isotherms of phenol on activated carbons and polymeric adsorbents are estimated and compared respectively for the systems of 'phenol-activated carbon-supercritical fluid CO2' and 'phenol-polymeric adsorbent-supercritical fluid CO2'. The results show that the amount of phenol adsorbed on the activated carbons and the polymeric adsorbents under the supercritical condition is much less than that under the general condition, which can be utilized to develop a technology regenerating the activated carbon with supercritical fluid. Moreover, the effects of ethyl alcohol, used as the third component, on the isotherms of phenol on the activated carbons and polymeric adsorbents under the supercritical condition are also investigated.

Adsorption of Anionic and Cationic Dyes from Textile Effluents by Activated Carbon Prepared from Sawdust and Fish Scale

In Bangladesh, there are thousands of textile-dying industries spread across the country’s many regions, the majority of which involve knitting and dying. The dyeing industry uses an enormous quantity of water, as well as colors and chemicals. After the dying process has been completed, they also release a significant amount of wastewater. Cotton, wool, and polyester fiber are typically dyed with textile dyes such as reactive, acid, and disperse dyes. These dyes are utilized most frequently in the respective sectors. The dyes’ colorants are extremely poisonous and dangerous to all forms of life, including aquatic life and living things. The present work has been intended to investigate whether or not it is practicable to remove commonly used textile dyes simultaneously from an aqueous dye solution using an adsorption technique that makes use of a variety of different adsorbents. This study focuses on the removal of color from two distinct types of dyes—Methylene Blue and Reactive Blue-250 which are cationic and anionic in nature respectively, using two different types of activated carbon adsorbents prepared from sawdust and fish scale. Dye removal capacity was tested as a function of contact time, the dosage of the adsorbent, pH during the treatment process, temperature and initial concentration of dye. The applicability of the Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms in describing experimental data was investigated. The micro and mesoporous activated carbon prepared from sawdust and fish scale identified by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images indicated that such adsorbents with a large surface area have more dye adsorption potential whereas the variation in dye adsorption occurs due to variation in surface area. From the overall experimental data, maximum removal of 95.39% and 87.92% was found for Methylene Blue and Reactive Blue-250 respectively by sawdust, and 90.64% removal of Methylene Blue by using fish scale.

Adsorbent made from CEPT sludge in wastewater enhanced treatment

The potential application of adsorbents made from CEPT sludge in municipal wastewater treatment was investigated under various conditions, such as the adsorbent dosage, pH, and the different dosing order modes of ferric chloride and the adsorbent. The adsorbent obtained from sludge contributes to sludge disposal, while reducing the fresh ferric chloride dosage. The enhanced removal efficiencies of turbidity, UV(254), COD, total phosphorus (TP) are 90.48%,77.80%,50.62% and 96.33% respectively when 3 g/L of the sludge-adsorbent was used in the coagulation process. The maximum adsorption capacity (Q°) of the sludge-adsorbent for COD was over 184.52 mg/gand that for TP was 4.98 mg/gadsorbent optimally as the dosage of the adsorbent was 0.6 g/L. When 10 mg/L of ferric chloride and 0.6 g/L of the adsorbent were used at the first stage simultaneously, the enhanced removal efficiencies of turbidity, UV(254), COD, TP were 83.33%,52.30%,48.84% and 88.96% respectively. The pH value in the raw water played a significant role in the coagulation and adsorption process. The optimum pH value was between 4 and 11.

Dynamic membrane bioreactor performance enhancement by powdered activated carbon addition:Evaluation of sludge morphological,aggregative and microbial properties

The effects of powdered activated carbon(PAC) addition on sludge morphological, aggregative and microbial properties in a dynamic membrane bioreactor(DMBR) were investigated to explore the enhancement mechanism of pollutants removal and filtration performance. Sludge properties were analyzed through various analytical measurements. The results showed that the improved sludge aggregation ability and the evolution of microbial communities affected sludge morphology in PAC-DMBR, as evidenced by the formation of large, regularly shaped and strengthened sludge flocs. The modifications of sludge characteristics promoted the formation process and filtration flux of the dynamic membrane(DM) layer. Additionally, PAC addition did not exert very significant influence on the propagation of eukaryotes(protists and metazoans)and microbial metabolic activity. High-throughput pyrosequencing results indicated that adding PAC improved the bacterial diversity in activated sludge, as PAC addition brought about additional microenvironment in the form of biological PAC(BPAC), which promoted the enrichment of Acinetobacter(13.9%), Comamonas(2.9%), Flavobacterium(0.31%) and Pseudomonas(0.62%), all contributing to sludge flocs formation and several(such as Acinetobacter) capable of biodegrading relatively complex organics. Therefore, PAC addition could favorably modify sludge properties from various aspects and thus enhance the DMBR performance.

Comparison on Thermal Conductivity and Permeability of Granular and Consolidated Activated Carbon for Refrigeration

This paper focuses on the development of three types of activated carbon （AC） adsorbents, i.e. granular AC, consolidated AC with chemical binder, and consolidated AC with expanded natural graphite （ENG）. Their thermal conductivity was investigated with the steady-state heat source method and the permeability was tested with nitrogen as the gas source. Results show that the thermal conductivity of granular AC with different sizes al-most maintains a constant at 0.36 W-（m.K）-＇, while the value modestly increases to 0.40 W.（m.K）-＇ for the con- solidated AC with chemical binder. The consolidated AC with ENG at the density of 600 kg. m-3 shows the best heat transfer performance and their thermal conductivity vary from 2.08 W-（m.K）- to 2.61 W. （m.K）-1 according toits fraction of AC. However, the granular AC and consolidated AC with chemical binder show the better permeabil- ity performance than consolidated AC with ENG binder whose permeability changes from 6.98x10-13 m2 to 5.16x10TM m2 and the maximum occurs when the content of AC reaches 71.4% （by mass）. According to the differ- ent thermal properties, the refrigeration application of three types of adsorbents is analyzed.

Effect of biomass addition on the surface and adsorption characterization of carbon-based adsorbents from sewage sludge

Sewage sludge with the additive corn cob was used as prescusor to prepare sludge-based carbon adsorbents by pyrolysis method. And then, the carbonizated products were activated with potassium hydroxide. The mixing ratio of the corn cob to sewage sludge was investigated. The surface area and pore size distribution, elemental composition, surface chemistry structure and the surface physical morphology were determined and compared. The results demonstrated that the addition of corn cob into the sewage sludge sample could effectively improve the surface area （from 287 to 591 m 2 /g） and the microporosity （from 5% to 48%） of the carbon based adsorbent, thus enhancing the adsorption behavior. The sulfur dioxide adsorption capacity was measured according to breakthrough test. It was found that the sulfur dioxide adsorption capacity of the adsorbents was obviously enhanced after the addition of the corn cob. It is presumed that not only highly porous adsorbents, but also a high metallic content of these materials are required to achieve good performances.

In-situ sludge reduction based on Mn^(2+)-catalytic ozonation conditioning:Feasibility study and microbial mechanisms

To improve the sludge conditioning efficiency without increasing the ozone dose,an in-situ sludge reduction process based on Mn^(2+)-catalytic ozonation conditioning was proposed.Using ozone conditioning alone as a control,a lab-scale sequencing batch reactor coupled with ozonated sludge recycle was evaluated for its operating performance at an ozone dose of 75 mg O_(3)/g VSS and 1.5 mmol/L Mn^(2+)addition.The results showed a 39.4%reduction in MLSS and an observed sludge yield of 0.236 kg MLSS/kg COD for the O_(3)+Mn^(2+)group compared to the O_(3)group (15.3%and 0.292 kg MLSS/kg COD),accompanied by better COD,NH_(4)^(+)-N,TN and TP removal,improved effluent SS and limited impact on excess sludge properties.Subsequently,activity tests,BIOLOG ECO microplates and 16S rRNA sequencing were applied to elucidate the changing mechanisms of Mn^(2+)-catalytic ozonation related to microbial action:(1) Dehydrogenase activity reached a higher peak.(2) Microbial utilization of total carbon sources had an elevated effect,up to approximately 18%,and metabolic levels of six carbon sources were also increased,especially for sugars and amino acids most pronounced.(3) The abundance of Defluviicoccus under the phylum Proteobacteria was enhanced to 12.0%and dominated in the sludge,they had strong hydrolytic activity and metabolic capacity.Denitrifying bacteria of the genus Ferruginibacter also showed an abundance of 7.6%,they contributed to the solubilization and reduction of sludge biomass.These results could guide researchers to further reduce ozonation conditioning costs,improve sludge management and provide theoretical support.

A Simple Method for Preparing CuCl/Activated Carbon for Selective CO Adsorption from Hydrogen

Carbon monoxide(CO)is an impurity gas that can poison the precious metal catalysts of hydrogen fuel cells,so it is necessary to separate CO from hydrogen.In this paper,an isovolumetric impregnation method was developed to prepare Cu(I)-supported activated carbon(AC),which is simple and easy to industrialize.The prepared cuprous chloride CuCl/AC adsorbent displayed a high CO adsorption capacity of 82.1 cm^(3)/g and a high CO/H_(2) separation factor of 20 at 20 bar and 298 K.This material can adsorb and remove CO from CO/H_(2) mixed gas(5μL/L CO-balanced H_(2))to less than 0.2μL/L under dynamic flow conditions,and showed excellent regeneration performance.The results show that CuCl/AC is an effective adsorbent for separating trace CO in high-purity hydrogen.

Characterization and adsorption behavior of a novel triolein-embedded activated carbon composite adsorbent

A novel triolein-embedded activated carbon composite adsorbent was developed. Experiments were car-ried out in areas such as the preparation method, the char-acterization of physicochemical properties, and the adsorp-tion behavior of the composite adsorbent in removing diel-drin from aqueous solution. Results suggested that the novel composite adsorbent was composed of the supporting acti-vated carbon and the surrounding triolein-embedded cellu-lose acetate membrane. The adsorbent was stable in water, for no triolein leakage was detected after soaking the ad-sorbent for five weeks. The adsorbent had good adsorption capability to dieldrin, which was indicated by a residual di-eldrin concentration of 0.204 μg·L?1. The removal efficiency of the composite adsorbent was higher than the traditional activated carbon adsorbent.

Preparation of ultrahigh-surface-area sludge biopolymers-based carbon using alkali treatment for organic matters recovery coupled to catalytic pyrolysis

In this work,we employed waste activated sludge(WAS)as carbon source to prepare ultrahigh specific surface area(SSA)biopolymers-based carbons(BBCs)through alkali(KOH)treatment coupled to pyrolysis strategy.Before the pyrolysis process,the involvement of KOH made a great recovery of soluble biopolymers from WAS,resulting in highly-efficient catalytic pyrolysis.The Brunner-Emmett-Teller and pore volume of BBCs prepared at 800℃(BBC800)reached the maximum at 2633.89 m2·g-1 and 2.919 m3·g-1,respectively.X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy suggested that aromatic carbon in the form of C=C was the dominant fraction of C element in BBCs.The N element in BBCs were composed of pyrrolic nitrogen and pyridinic nitrogen at 700℃,while a new graphitic nitrogen appeared over 800℃.As a refractory pollutant of wastewater treatment plants,tetracycline(TC)was selected to evaluate adsorption performance of BBCs.The adsorption behavior of BBCs towards TC was conformed to the pseudo-second-order kinetic and the Langmuir models,signifying that chemisorption of monolayers was dominant in TC adsorption.The adsorption capacity of BBC800 reached the maximum at 877.19 mg·g-1 for 90 min at 298 K.Thermodynamic analysis indicated that the adsorption process was endothermic and spontaneous.Hydrogen bonding andπ-πstacking interaction were mainly responsible for TC adsorption,and interfacial diffusion was the main rate-control step in adsorption process.The presence of sol-uble microbial products(SMPs)enhanced TC removal.This work provided a novel strategy to prepare bio-carbon with ultrahigh SSA using WAS for highly-efficient removal of organic pollutants.

CuO-modified activated carbon for the improvement of toluene removal in air

We used an impregnation method to prepare CuO/AC(activated carbon) composite materials of different CuO content and characterized them via scanning electron microscope(SEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller(BET), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR).The effect of CuO content on toluene adsorption/desorption was evaluated.We explored the reusability of AC and AC03(CuO modified AC with CuO loading 0.3 wt.%) adsorbents via toluene adsorption/desorption cycle testing.We used quasi-firstand quasi-second-order models, the Bangham model, and the Weber–Morris model to fit the toluene adsorption data.The introduction of CuO species evidently improved the adsorption performance of activated carbon toward toluene.The CuO content markedly affected the specific surface area, CuO dispersal, the numbers of oxygen-containing functional groups on the surface, and adsorption performance of the prepared composite adsorbents.Low CuO content was not favorable for the formation of active adsorption sites,while high content greatly reduced the specific surface area, and even covered active adsorption sites.The toluene adsorption performance varied in the order AC03 > AC02 >AC05 > AC08 > AC01(AC03, AC02, AC05, AC08 and AC01 are CuO modifying AC with CuO loading 0.3, 0.2, 0.5 0.8 and 0.1 wt.%, respectively).The breakthrough time and toluene adsorption capacity of the AC03 composite adsorbent were 94 min and 701.8 mg/g,respectively, and the recycling efficiency was 92.8% after thermal desorption at 200°C.The adsorption process was best described by the Bangham model and adsorption could be divided into three stages.