Removal of toluene vapors from the polluted air with modified natural zeolite and titanium dioxide nanoparticles

Abstract

Toluene is a colorless and flammab1le liquid with the same solubilizing capacity as benzene that is in many cases used as an alternative to benzene, because of the uncertainty of being carcinogens. Workers can be exposed to toluene by breathing the chemical. To avoid inhalation and dermal effects caused by exposure to toluene, solutions such as adsorption, thermal oxidation, membrane separation and photocatalytic processes are applied. In this study, removal of toluene vapors with modified natural zeolite and titanium dioxide nanoparticles was discussed. The natural zeolite was modified using chemical and thermal methods. The samples characterized by Brunauer-Emmet-Teller, Barrett-Joyner-Halenda, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy tests. After stabilization of TiO2 nanoparticles, the removal efficiency for the toluene vapors at a concentration of 50, 150 and 300 ppm were evaluated using a dynamic system. The results showed that the zeolite has a very porous surface and after modifying the context its specific surface area increased 2.54 times. The results of the adsorption capacity calculation and photocatalytic process showed that modified zeolite samples-TiO2 bed has greater efficiency in the adsorption capacity and better photocatalytic activity than a Ze-TiO2 bed. Ze-TiO2 bed was able to remove 26% of toluene vapors at the concentration of 50 ppm and inlet flow rate of 1 L/m, which was 1.26 times more than a bed Ze-TiO2. According to the results of this study, while modifying the natural zeolite increased desirable properties such as specific surface area and Si/Al ratio, but in comparison with similar studies with synthetic bed such as zeolite Y and ZSM-5, could not achieve desired results in a photocatalytic activity for its application in industry. However, because of its abundance in the world and Iran and therefore low cost of preparation and also due to its unique characteristics, it is recommended that more studies to be done about modifying and its application in photocatalytic processes.