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Acid treatment enhances performance of beads activated carbon for formaldehyde removal

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Abstract

This study evaluated how acid treatment affects the ability of customized beads of activated carbon (BAC) to remove formaldehyde from air. Two different acids (hydrofluoric acid and sulfuric acid) were used to modify the surface of BAC prepared from a polymer material. The acid-modified BACs were further subjected to heat treatment. Physical and chemical characteristics of modified and unmodified BACs were investigated using nitrogen adsorption, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Formaldehyde removal was evaluated under both dry and moist conditions. From the results, acid treatment clearly improved the adsorption performance, especially under the moist condition. Qualitative and quantitative surface analyses were conducted, mainly to examine the amount of O-bonds after acid treatment and the formation of S–O or Cl–O on BAC.

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Data availability statement

The Data used to support the findings of this study are included within the article.

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Acknowledgement

This work was supported by Korea Environment Industry & Technology Institute (KEITI) through the Prospective Green Technology Innovation Project, funded by Korea Ministry of Environment (MOE) (2020003160004).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Hanbat National University, Daejeon, 34158, Republic of Korea

    Yu-Jin Kang, Hyung-Kun Jo, Min-Hyeok Jang, Gyoung-Jae Han, Seong-Jin Yoon & Joo-Il Park

  2. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Inha Technical College, Incheon, 22212, Korea

    Kyeongseok Oh

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  1. Yu-Jin Kang
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Kang, YJ., Jo, HK., Jang, MH. et al. Acid treatment enhances performance of beads activated carbon for formaldehyde removal. Carbon Lett. 33, 397–408 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42823-022-00428-5

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