The preparation and performance of lignin-based activated carbon fiber adsorbents for treating gaseous streams

Abstract

Two types of lignin-based carbon fibers were prepared by electrospinning method. The first was activated with Fe₃O₄ (LCF-Fe), and the second was not activated with Fe₃O₄ (LCF). Gas phase adsorption isotherms for toluene on LCF-Fe and LCF were studied. The gas phase adsorption isotherm for 0% RH showed LCF-Fe have about 439 mg/g adsorption capacity which was close to that of commercially available activated carbon (500 mg/g). The Dubinin-Radushkevich equation described the isotherm data very well. Competitive adsorption isotherms between water vapor and toluene were measured for their RH from 0 to 80%. The effect of humidity on toluene gas-phase adsorption was predicted by using the Okazaki et al. model. In addition, a constant pattern homogeneous surface diffusion model (CPHSDM) was used to predict the toluene breakthrough curve of continuous flow-packed columns containing LCF-Fe, and its capacity was 412 mg/g. Our study, which included material characterization, adsorption isotherms, kinetics, the impact of humidity and fixed bed performance modeling, demonstrated the suitability of lignin-based carbon fiber for volatile organic compound removal from gas streams.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

lignin / carbon fiber / electrospinning / toluene / humidity

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51576048). Thanks to the financial support of Jiangsu Province Environmental Protection Foundation (2015013), the Industry, Education, and Research Prospective Project of Jiangsu Province (BY2015060-04) and Fok Ying Tong Education Foundation (142026). This research was also supported by the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems, Hightower Chair, and the Georgia Research Alliance at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

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