Ozonation of activated carbon and its effects on the adsorption of VOCs exemplified by methylethylketone and benzene

Ozonation can modify the surface property of an activated carbon such as specific surface area, pore volume, and functional group. Results indicate that ozonation can increase the specific surface area of an activated carbon from 783±51 to 851±25 m2/g due in part to increasing micropores (those below 15 Å). However, there is no change in macropore and mesopore upon ozonation. The amount of oxygen functional group (OFG) increases from 197±4 to 240±4 μeq/g, mostly in hydroxyl and carboxyl groups upon ozone treatment. These oxygen-containing functional groups are stable in the temperature range 30–250 °C, but begin to decompose when temperature increases beyond 300 and 350 °C. When the temperature reaches 1200 °C, all OFGs virtually disappear. The effect of ozone treatment on the adsorption of volatile organic carbon (VOC) was exemplified by methylethylketone (MEK) and benzene. The adsorption density of MEK and benzene by ozone treated activated carbon (AC(O3)) are greater than that by the untreated (AC), with MEK being more adsorbable than benzene. Results of factorial analysis indicate that physical characteristics, namely, micropore, BET surface area, pore diameter (PD), micropore volume (MV) play an important role on benzene and MEK adsorption.