Electrothermal adsorption and desorption of volatile organic compounds on activated carbon fiber cloth

H. K. Son, S. Sivakumar, M. J. Rood, B. J. Kim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Adsorption is an effective means to selectively remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from industrial gas streams and is particularly of use for gas streams that exhibit highly variable daily concentrations of VOCs. Adsorption of such gas streams by activated carbon fiber cloths (ACFCs) and subsequent controlled desorption can provide gas streams of well-defined concentration that can then be more efficiently treated by biofiltration than streams exhibiting large variability in concentration. In this study, we passed VOC-containing gas through an ACFC vessel for adsorption and then desorption in a concentration-controlled manner via electrothermal heating. Set-point concentrations (40-900ppmv) and superficial gas velocity (6.3-9.9m/s) were controlled by a data acquisition and control system. The results of the average VOC desorption, desorption factor and VOC in-and-out ratio were calculated and compared for various gas set-point concentrations and superficial gas velocities. Our results reveal that desorption is strongly dependent on the set-point concentration and that the VOC desorption rate can be successfully equalized and controlled via an electrothermal adsorption system.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)27-34
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Hazardous Materials
Volume301
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 15 2016

Keywords

  • Activated carbon fiber cloth
  • Adsorption
  • Desorption
  • Set-point concentration
  • Volatile organic compounds

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Environmental Engineering
  • Environmental Chemistry
  • Waste Management and Disposal
  • Pollution
  • Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

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