Evaluation of Non-Carbon Adsorbents for the Removal of Volatile Organic Compounds Emitted from Laundry Facilities

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted from various sources. Laundry facilities are one of the emission sources located near a residential area. Especially, a high concentration of VOCs is emitted during a dry cleaning process in the laundry facility. An adsorption method has been used for the removal of VOCs from an exhaust gas. Although a carbonaceous adsorbent has been used for VOCs removal, it has a risk of fire and explosion. In this study, non-carbon adsorbents such as mesoporous silica (MCM-41, SBA-15 and KIT-6), activated alumina and aluminum silicate were tested for the adsorption of VOCs from the organic solvent used in the dry cleaning process. A fixed-bed reactor system was used for the adsorption tests at 30 degrees C. The inlet concentration of the solvent vapor was 2,000 ppm (+/- 10%). For some tests, 0.8% water vapor was also injected to investigate the effect of water vapor on the adsorption capacity and the desorption efficiency of the adsorbent. Desorption tests were conducted by injecting fresh air at 30 degrees C after the adsorption tests. Activated alumina was found to be a regenerable adsorbent. Although activated alumina also showed a high adsorption capacity without the injection of water vapor, it showed a significant decrease in the adsorption capacity with the injection of water vapor. MCM-41, SBA-15 and KIT-6 showed lower desorption efficiencies than activated alumina. Considering the high costs of MCM-41, SBA-15 and KIT-6, those adsorbents may not be applicable the removal of VOCs from the dry cleaning process.