Adsorption of acetaldehyde from air by activated carbon and carbon fibers

Abstract

The adsorption of acetaldehyde from air using various activated carbon and carbon fibers was investigated in this study. These adsorbents included activated carbon (AC), carbon fibers (CFs), activated carbon fibers (ACFs), and metal-coated carbon fibers (MCCFs) supplied by different manufacturers. AC was categorized as AC1, AC2, AC3, and AC4, CFs were denoted as ACF1, while ACFs and MCCFs were expressed as ACF2 and ACF3, respectively. Five composite materials were prepared using the AC and ACFs in different ratios, and experiments were conducted to assess their acetaldehyde adsorption efficiency under dry and wet conditions. The results showed that the acetaldehyde adsorption efficiency of an impregnated AC4 was higher (95.9%) than that of both non-impregnated AC1 and AC3 and an impregnated AC2 after 1 min of operation. ACF2 showed a higher acetaldehyde adsorption efficiency (50.9%) as compared to ACF1 and ACF3 because of its larger surface area and selective absorption capability after 1 min of operation. A composite material comprising 6.3 g of AC4 and 1 g of ACF2 showed the highest adsorption efficiency of 97.9% under dry conditions. However, this adsorption efficiency significantly decreased under wet conditions.