Purification of aromatic hydrocarbons via fibrous activated carbon/photocatalytic composite coupled with UV light-emitting diodes

Abstract

In the present study, the applicability of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to a fibrous activated carbon (FAC)/titania (TiO2) composite used for the purification of gas-phase benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylene was evaluated. The surface and morphological properties of the FAC and prepared FAC/TiO2 composite were investigated by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The study protocol included two different tests, comparison of FAC and the FAC/TiO2 composite for BTEX removal efficiency and evaluation of the FAC/TiO2 composite for benzene and toluene removal efficiency under differing operation conditions. The time-series ratios obtained with the FAC/TiO2 composite showed longer removal times for all target compounds when compared to those of FAC alone. For both benzene and toluene, the breakthrough time decreased with the stream flow rate, whereas it increased with increasing light intensity under the experimental conditions employed in this study. The breakthrough time of benzene and toluene increased as increasing amounts of TiO2 were coated onto the surface of FAC between 11 and 229 mg-TiO2 (g-FAC)−1, but decreased as the amount of TiO2 increased to 451 mg (g-FAC)−1. These findings indicate that the optimal TiO2 weight for the removal process of benzene and toluene via the FAC/TiO2 composite is between 229 and 451 mg-TiO2 (g-FAC)−1.