Binary VOCs absorption in a rotating packed bed with blade packings

Recent advances in the chemical oxidation of gaseous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in liquid phase

The chemical oxidation of gaseous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in liquid phase may possess great advantages in its high removal efficiency, mild conditions, good reliability, wide applicability, and little potential secondary pollution, which has aroused extensive research interests in the past decade. This Overview Article summarizes the latest achievements to eliminate VOCs by chemical oxidation in liquid phase including gas-liquid mass transfer, homogeneous/heterogeneous oxidation, electrochemical oxidation, and coupling technologies. Important research contributions are highlighted in terms of mass transfer, catalytic materials, removal/mineralization efficiency, and reaction mechanism to evaluate their potential industrial applications. The current challenges and future strategies are discussed from the viewpoint of the deep degradation of refractory VOC substrates and their intermediates. It is anticipated that this review will attract more attention toward the development and application of chemical oxidation methods to clear complex industrial organic exhaust gas.

Defect engineering-induced porosity in graphene quantum dots embedded metal-organic frameworks for enhanced benzene and toluene adsorption

The emerging environmental issues necessitate the engineering of novel and well-designed nanoadsorbents for advanced separation and purification applications. Despite recent advances, the facile synthesis of hierarchical micro-mesoporous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with tuned structures has remained a challenge. Herein, we report a simple defect engineering approach to manipulate the framework, induce mesoporosity, and crease large pore volumes in MIL-101(Cr) by embedding graphene quantum dots (GQDs) during its self-assembly process. For instance, MIL-101@GQD-3 (V_meso: 0.68 and V_tot: 1.87 cm³/g) exhibited 300.0% and 53.3% more meso and total pore volume compared to those of the conventional MIL-101 (V_meso: 0.17 and V_tot: 1.22 cm³/g), respectively, resulting in 1.7 and 2.8 times greater benzene and toluene loading at 1 bar and 25 °C. In addition, we found that MIL-101@GQD-3 retained its superiority over a wide range of VOC concentrations and operating temperature (25-55 °C) with great cyclic capacity and energy-efficient regeneration. Considering the simplicity of the adopted technique to induce mesoporosity and tune the nanoporous structure of MOFs, the presented GQD incorporation technique is expected to provide a new pathway for the facile synthesis of advanced materials for environmental applications.

Removal of hydrophobic volatile organic compounds with sodium hypochlorite and surfactant in a co-current rotating packed bed

A co-current flow rotating packed bed was applied to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) and surfactant (sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate, SDBS) from air stream. Xylene was used as a model VOC herein. The effect of pH, concentration of NaClO and SDBS solution, liquid flow rate, gas flow rate and rotational speed on xylene removal efficiency and overall mass transfer coefficient (K_Ga) were discussed. Then, a correlation for K_Ga of the co-current rotating packed bed was proposed by fitting the experimental data of K_Ga and independent variables of liquid/gas ratio, rotational speed, pH, NaClO concentration and treatment time, which was in good agreement with the experimental data (the deviation≤±30%).

Evaluation of the Adsorption Performance and Sustainability of Exfoliated Graphite Nanoplatelets (xGnP) for VOCs

Exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets (xGnP), which combine the layered structure and low price of nanoclays with the superior mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties of carbon nanotubes, are very cost-effective, and can simultaneously provide a multitude of physical and chemical property enhancements. In this study, we evaluated xGnP’s adsorption performance of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) according to thermal extractor (TE) analysis for seven days in order to use the xGnP as an adsorption material of pollutants. In addition, we carried out a sustainability evaluation in order to evaluate its adsorption capacity over 28 days. The results indicate that the adsorption performance of xGnP is higher than for other adsorption materials such as zeolite. Also, we determined that the adsorption performance of xGnP is maintained continuously for 28 days and that its adsorption capacity is large.

Synergetic effect based gel-emulsions and their utilization for the template preparation of porous polymeric monoliths

A polymerizable cholesteryl derivative (COA) was synthesized and used as a stabilizer for creating gel-emulsions with water in polymerizable monomers, of which they are styrene (ST), tert-butyl methacrylate (t-BMA), ethylene glycol dimethyl acrylate (EGDMA), and methyl methacrylate (MMA), etc. Interestingly, in addition to COA, the presence of a small amount of Span-80 is a necessity for the formation of the monomers containing gel-emulsions. Unlike conventional ones, the volume fraction of the dispersed phase in the gel-emulsions as created could be much lower than 74%, a critical value for routine gel-emulsions. Stabilization of these gel-emulsions as created has been attributed to the synergetic effect between COA, a typical low-molecular-mass gelator (LMMG), and Span-80, a surfactant, of which the former gels the continuous phase and the latter minimizes the interfacial energy of the continuous phase and the dispersed phase. SEM observation confirmed the network structures of COA in the gel-emulsions. Rheological tests demonstrated that the storage modulus, G', and the yield stress of the gel-emulsions decrease along with increasing the volume fraction of the dispersed phase, water, provided it is not greater than 74%-a result inconsistent with the theory explaining formation of routine gel-emulsions and in support of the conclusion that the systems under study follow a different mechanism. Furthermore, unlike LMMG-based stabilizers reported earlier, the gelator, COA, created in the present study has been functioning not only as a stabilizer but also a monomer. To illustrate the conceptual advantages, the gel-emulsions of water in ST/DVB/AIBN were polymerized. As expected, the densities and internal structures of the monoliths as prepared are highly adjustable, functionalization of the materials with cholesterol has been realized, and at the same time the problem of stabilizer leaking has been avoided. A preliminary test for gas adsorption demonstrated that the monoliths as prepared are good adsorbents for some volatile organic compounds (VOCs), in particular benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene-the famous and toxic BTEX. It is believed that the findings reported in the present work provide not only a new strategy for creating novel gel-emulsions but also a new route for functionalizing porous polymeric monoliths.