Removal of styrene from air by natural and modified zeolite

ABSTRACT

Changing the surface characteristics of raw materials has created new prospects for catalysts and adsorption technology. Natural and modified zeolite with trimethylchlorosilane [TMSCI] has been used to adsorb styrene. Dynamic adsorption tests were performed with a number of standard characterization techniques and zeolite particles were examined in three sizes less than 1 mm, 1-2 mm, and 2-4 mm. The gas concentration was 20 ppm, 40 ppm, and 60 ppm. Three flow rates were tested in this study 0.5 l/min, 0.75 l/min, and 1 l/min. The sorption of Styrene depended on the particle diameter size, gas flow rate, and inlet gas concentration. The optimum size for adsorption was less than 1 mm, the optimum flow rate was 0.5 l/min, and the optimum gas concentration was 20 ppm. The adsorption capacity decreased with increasing size, flow rate, and concentration of the pollutant. The adsorption by the surface-modified zeolite increased by as much as 100% compared with natural zeolite. Therefore, the surface-modified natural zeolite may be utilized for many adsorption applications. This study shows the importance of chemical surface modification and confirms similar findings of other studies