Cellulose has experienced a renaissance as a precursor for carbon fibers (CFs). However, cellulose possesses intrinsic challenges as precursor substrate such as typically low carbon yield. This study examines the interplay of strategies to increase the carbonization yield of (ligno-) cellulosic fibers manufactured via a coagulation process. Using Design of Experiments, this article assesses the individual and combined effects of diammonium hydrogen phosphate (DAP), lignin, and CO2 activation on the carbonization yield and properties of cellulose-based carbon fibers. Synergistic effects are identified using the response surface methodology. This paper evidences that DAP and lignin could affect cellulose pyrolysis positively in terms of carbonization yield. Nevertheless, DAP and lignin do not have an additive effect on increasing the yield. In fact, combined DAP and lignin can affect negatively the carbonization yield within a certain composition range. Further, the thermogravimetric CO2 adsorption of the respective CFs was measured, showing relatively high values (ca. 2 mmol/g) at unsaturated pressure conditions. The CFs were microporous materials with potential applications in gas separation membranes and CO2 storage systems.

An environmentally friendly and low-cost chitosan-containing polysaccharide (CP) composite ZIF-8/CP was designed and prepared based on the difficulty of separating the traditional adsorbent from the water phase. ZIF-8/CP was synthesized through in-situ growth approach. The physical, chemical and structure properties of ZIF-8/CP were determined through a series of characterization methods, including SEM, FT-IR and PXRD. The effects of touch time, pH, temperature, and coexisting ions on adsorption were assessed. In addition, kinetics, isotherms of adsorption and thermodynamics were examined. The data of isotherms for adsorption indicated that the adsorption of ZIF-8/CP on MG was similar to the Langmuir model, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 1428.57 mg/g. Moreover, the kinetic parameters were consistent with the pseudo- 2nd-order equation. Thermodynamic studies (ΔG < 0, ΔH > 0) demonstrated a heat-absorbing and spontaneous adsorption process. Our study reveals that ZIF-8/CP has good adsorption properties and environmental properties.

Quality standards of activated carbon for gas-phase applications have been deleted from the Korean national standard list since 2007, and the iodine adsorption test is the only measure currently used for quality assurance. This study was performed to propose a suitable test method and a quality standard for gas-phase activated carbon. The "1/2 saturated vapor adsorption" test has been developed as a simple and convenient method to determine the adsorption capacity of activated carbon. In this study, the developed test method was evaluated using model VOCs including toluene, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), and ethyl acetate (EA). A virgin activated carbon revealed adsorption capacities of 344mg/g, 322mg/g, and 328mg/g for toluene, EA, and MEK, respectively, and the adsorption capacity for a mixture of the three VOCs was 334 mg/g. When a regenerated activated carbon was applied, the adsorption capacities dramatically decreased to 62 mg/g, 52 mg/g, and 61 mg/ g for toluene, EA, and MEK, respectively. In addition, the 1/2 solvent vapor adsorption tests using 13 different specimens of activated carbon showed that their capacities were closely related to the iodine adsorption numbers, and this study suggested the adsorption capacity of 300 mg/g as a new quality standard. The novel test method and its standard may help to guarantee the quality of gas-phase activated carbon used for VOCs abatement processes.

Various radionuclides are released and contaminate soils by the nuclear accidents, nuclear tests and disposal of radioactive waste. Among radionuclides, 137Cs is a harmful radioactive element that emits high-energy β particles and γ rays with a half-life of 30.2 years. 137Cs is difficult to extract because it is fixed to soil particles. For the volume reduction technology development of contaminated soil, this study tried to evaluate the irreversible Cs adsorption capacity of granite-originated soil. The soil sample used in the study was collected from C horizon of the soil developed in Mesozoic mica granite. The soil texture, mineralogy, organic content, pH, EC, cation exchange capacity (CEC), water-soluble cation and anion content of the soil samples were determined. A kinetic adsorption experiment and an isotherm adsorption experiment were performed to understand the overall Cs adsorption characteristics using 133Cs. The desorption of Cs by 0.1 mM KCl was also tested for the sample spiked with 133Cs and 137Cs. The soil sample showed a pH of 6.73, EC of 24.50 μS cm-1, and CEC of 1.34 cmolc kg-1, organic matter of 0.53% and sandy loam in texture. Quartz, feldspar and mica were identified as the major mineral components of bulk sample. The clay fraction consists of mica, hydroxyl-interlayer vermiculite (HIV), vermiculite and kaolinite. In the kinetic adsorption experiment, the Cs adsorption showed fast adsorption rates at the initial stage (6 hours) regardless of the 133Cs concentration, and the adsorption equilibrium state was reached after 48 hours. It was the most suitable for the pseudo second-order model. The 133Cs adsorption increased nonlinearly from low to high concentration, which was well match with the dual site Langmuir model. As a result of the desorption experiment, desorption was not performed up to 1.1 mg kg-1 in the presence of competitive ions K+, which is about 0.035% of CEC calculated by the isotherm model. The adsorption of Cs was controlled by frayed edge sites (FES) at a low concentrations and by basal sites or interlayer sites at a high concentration. Irreversible Cs fixation of by FES may be contributed by mainly weathered mica, and when these minerals are separated from the granite origin soil, the possibility of reducing the contamination concentration and volume of radioactive soil waste can be expected.

The purpose of this study is to produce an adsorbent material with biomass by-product that are readily visible in daily life. The biomass by-product used in the study are coffee grounds, oak leaves and chestnut peels. These biomass by-products were produced with dry, carbonization and activation treatments. The equipment for the evaluation of adsorption capacity was the batch type system to measure the concentration of test gases with the odor sensor device. Biomass by-products have been shown to improve the absorption characteristics of adsorbent through carbonization and activation. The adsorbent made with coffee grounds and chestnut peels had superior adsorption capacity to hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and complex odor (H2S & NH3) in a comparison with regular activated carbon. The odor sensor device could be used to evaluate the device of adsorption capacity of the adsorbent.

In this work, pellet type sorbents were prepared to control the low level indoor carbon dioxide with various physical compositions. In order to enhance the adsorption capacity, a few additives including alkali hydroxides were added to a commercial zeolitic sorbent by impregnation of alkali cation - Ca²⁺ through physical mixing and ion exchange. It was found that the binding materials such as dextrin or bentonite facilitating to form the granular sorbents would assist the adsorption capacity of sorbents. The ion exchange was more efficient for impregnation of alkalies, which showed better adsorption of gaseous CO₂.

Activated carbons with high surface area of 2,600 m2/g and high pore volume of 1.2 cc/g could be prepared by KOH activation of rice hulls at a KOH:char ratio of 4:1 and 850℃. In order to increase the adsorption capacity of hydrogen sulfide, which is one of the major malodorous component in the waste water treatment process, various contents of Na2CO3 and KIO3 were impregnated to the rice-hull activated carbon. The impregnated activated carbon with 5 wt.% of Na2CO3 showed improved H2S adsorption capacity of 75 mg/g which is twice of that for the activated carbon without impregnation and the impregnated activated carbon with 2.4 wt.% of KIO3 showed even higher H2S adsorption capacity of 97 mg/g. The improvement of H2S adsorption capacity by the introduction of those chemicals could be due to the H2S oxidation and chemical reaction with impregnated materials in addition to the physical adsorption of activated carbon.

A zeolite material (ZCH) was synthesized from coal fly ash in an HD thermal power plant using a fusion/hydrothermal method. ZCH with high crystallinity could be synthesized at the NaOH/CFA ratio of 0.9. Ion-exchanged ZCH adsorbents for ammonia removal were prepared by ion-exchanging various cation (Cu2+, Co2+, Fe3+, and Mn2+) on the ZCH. They were used to evaluate the ammonia adsorption breakthrough curves and adsorption capacities. The ammonia adsorption capacities of the ZCH and ion-exchanged ZCHs were high in the order of Mn-ZCH > Cu-ZCH ≅ Co-ZCH > Fe-ZCH > ZCH according to NH3-TPD measurements. Mn-ZCH ion-exchanged with Mn has more Brønsted acid sites than other adsorbents. The ion-exchanged Cu2+, Co2+, Fe3+, or Mn2+ ions uniformly distributed on the surface or in the pores of the ZCH, and the number of acidic sites increased on the alumina sites to form the crystal structure of zeolite material. Therefore, when the ion-exchanged ZCH was used, the adsorption capacity for ammonia gas increased.

A zeolite material with a Si/Al molar ratio of 1.2 was synthesized by changing the NaOH/CFA ratio of coal fly ash (CFA) via a fusion/hydrothermal reaction in the HD thermal power plant. The change in the crystal structure of the zeolite was confirmed using XRD and SEM, and the ammonia adsorption capacities of the synthesized zeolitic materials and a commercial zeolite (Na-A zeolite) were analyzed via an ammonia temperature-programmed desorption (NH3-TPD) process. The SEM and XRD results revealed out the zeolitic materials from the coal fly ash maintained a hexagonal Linde-type crystal structure similar to that of Na-A zeolite, but the crystallinity of the synthesized zeolitic material was reduced due to impurities. The NH3 adsorption capacity, determined from the NH3-TPD analysis of was 1.122 mmol/g of the synthesized zeolitic material, which was lower than the NH3 adsorption capacity of the Na-A zeolite.

When the reinforced concrete structure is in a high salinity environment, chlorine ions penetrate from the surroundings, resulting in corrosion of the reinforcing bars, resulting in low durability. Therefore, studies on the immobilization of chlorine ions are underway, and anion exchange resin, one of them, was used in this study. In this study, chloride ion fixing ability was confirmed by replacing OPC, conventional bead anion exchange resin, and powder anion exchange resin with mortar and then using an electron probe X-ray micro-analyzer. The bead anion exchange resin replaced 3% of the fine aggregate volume and the powder anion exchange resin 5% of the cement volume. The fabricated specimens were cured for 28 days, immersed in NaCl solution for 28 days, and confirmed by electron probe X-ray micro-analyzer.

This study discusses regeneration of mercury-contaminated, activated carbon from adsorption in the mercuryrecovery process. Mercury in activated carbon was desorbed by thermal treatment, and the regeneration efficiency was confirmed by mercury content and iodine adsorption comparing new and spent activated carbon. Up to 95% of mercury desorbed and up to 86% adsorption performance regenerated at 673 K. Therefore, it is expected that activated carbon can be reused many times by regenerating it through thermal treatment without disposing of mercury-containing activated carbon.

Industrial gas drying, dilute gas mixtures purification, air fractionation, hydrogen production from steam reformers and petroleum refinery off-gases, etc are conducted by using adsorptive separation technology. The pressure swing adsorption (PSA) has certain advantages over the other methods, such as absorption and membrane, that are a low energy requirement and cost-effectiveness. A key component of PSA systems is adsorbents that should be highly selective to a gas being separated from its mixture streams and have isotherms suitable for the operation principle. The six standard types of isotherms have been examined in this review, and among them the best behavior in the adsorption of CO2 as a function of pressure was proposed in aspects of maximizing a working capacity upon excursion between adsorption and desorption cycles. Zeolites and molecular sieves are historically typical adsorbents for such PSA applications in gas and related industries, and their physicochemical features, e.g., framework, channel structure, pore size, Si-to-Al ratio (SAR), and specific surface area, are strongly associated with the extent of CO2 adsorption at given conditions and those points have been extensively described with literature data. A great body of data of CO2 adsorption on the nanoporous zeolitic materials have been collected according to pressure ranges adsorbed, and these isotherms have been discussed to get an insight into a better CO2 adsorbent for PSA processes.