Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from industrial gas cause equipment failure and fire accidents due to the rapid flow and concentration changes of VOCs. Therefore, it is crucial to attenuate the concentration of VOCs to ensure a constant emission rate before the control process. This study proposed an encapsulation technique to fabricate calcium- alginate gel beads containing paraffin oil as an effective absorbent. The prepared absorbent was physically characterized, and a column test observed its absorption capacity. When the oil content was 30%, the prepared beads showed the best spherical shape, attaining 96% emulsion stability, 0.014 sphericity factor, 62.7% weight variation ratio, and 4.21 ± 0.06mm diameter. In the column test that was packed with the prepared beads, the toluene absorption capacity was 497.6mg/kg. The net effect of the beads was to attenuate the peaks of toluene concentration, and to make the VOC-laden air stream more receptive for the subsequent treatment unit.

The black cutworm, Agrotis ipsilon (Hufnagel), damages various cultivated crops and is also occasionally a serious pest of turfgrass, especially on golf courses. Essential oils have potential as alternative control agents for insect pests. Sixteen essential oils (anise, camphor, cinnamon, citronella, clove, fennel, geranium, lavender, lemongrass, linseed, neem, peppermint, pine, thyme, turpentine and tea saponin) and paraffin oil were assessed in the laboratory and the green house for their efficacy against black cutworm larvae. Treatment of potted perennial ryegrass with anise, cinnamon, neem, paraffin or turpentine reduced black cutworm damage in a greenhouse trial. Neem oil (2000 ppm) reduced growth of black cutworms feeding on treated clippings within 3 and 5 days. Treatment of perennial ryegrass in pots resulted in 100, 100 and 46% mortality of black cutworm at 4000, 2000 and 1000 ppm, respectively. Weight of survivors at the 1000 ppm rate was 5 fold less than weight of comparably-aged controls.