The influence of water vapor on the organic compounds adsorption on activated carbon

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the experimental evaluation of the influence of water vapor upon the adsorption of toluene and dichloromethane on the activated carbons from the Czech production. Adsorption on the activated carbon is one of the most widely used procedures for the ecological treatment of waste gases. It is applied very frequently in the removal of several organic compounds—solvents, aromates, and chlorinated hydrocarbons. The treated gases have diverse composition, but usually they contain various amounts of water vapor. The presence of water vapor does not prevent the adsorption of the component being adsorbed, but it to some extent influences the sorption ability of the activated carbon. The mechanisms of the adsorption of water vapor and organic compounds on activated carbon are different. While in the adsorption of water hydrogen bonds play the main role, in the adsorption of organic compounds it is the dispersion forces. In the case of the organic substances, the adsorption mechanism is given by the London's dispersion effect, which is one of the components of Van der Waals' attractive forces.