Abstract
The lignin-based carbon fibers were prepared by electrospinning followed by stabilization, carbonization, and activation (i.e., steam activation, one-step KOH activation, and metal activation). The effect of carbonization temperature on prepared carbon fibers (CFs) was investigated. As a result, 800 °C is the most suitable carbonization temperature because the prepared carbon fibers possess greater specific surface area and pore volume. With the help of various characterization methods, the structural characteristics of the activated carbon fibers (ACFs) prepared by the three activation methods and the adsorption performance of toluene were compared. It was observed that the activated carbon fibers prepared by KOH one-step activation method (ACFK) exhibited higher specific surface area (1147.16 m2/g) and greater toluene adsorption (463 mg/g). Particularly, abundant microporous structures and surface functional groups play a vital role in the adsorption process. Further, the adsorption performance of toluene onto ACFK was further investigated in a gas-phase dynamic adsorption system and the results showed that ACFK has great potential application in adsorption of volatile organic compounds.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aboukaïs A, Skaf M, Hany S, Cousin R, Aouad S, Labaki M, Abi-Aad E (2016) A comparative study of Cu, Ag and Au doped CeO2 in the total oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Mater Chem Phys 177:570–576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchemphys.2016.04.072
Ago M, Jakes JE, Johansson LS, ParkS ROJ (2012) Interfacial properties of lignin-based electrospun nanofibers and films reinforced with cellulose nanocrystals. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 4(12):6849–6856. https://doi.org/10.1021/am302008p
Baur GB, Yuranov I, Kiwi-Minsker L (2015) Activated carbon fibers modified by metal oxide as effective structured adsorbents for acetaldehyde. Catal Today 249:252–258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cattod.2014.11.021
Braun JL, Holtman KM, Kadla JF (2005) Lignin-based carbon fibers: oxidative thermo-stabilization of kraft lignin. Carbon 43(2):385–394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2004.09.027
Brunauer S, Deming LS, Deming WE, Teller E (1940) On a theory of the van der Waals adsorption of gases. J Am Chem Soc 62(7):1723–1732. https://doi.org/10.1021/ja01864a025
Chen XC, Luo Q, Wang DH, Gao JJ, Wei Z, Wang ZJ, Zhou HD, Mazumder A (2015) Simultaneous assessments of occurrence, ecological, human health, and organoleptic hazards for 77 VOCs in typical drinking water sources from 5 major river basins, China. Environ Pollut 206:64–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2015.06.027
Davardoost F, Kahforoushan D (2018) Health risk assessment of VOC emissions in laboratory rooms via a modeling approach. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25:17890–17900. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-1982-6
Díez N, Álvarez P, Granda M, Blanco C, Santamaría R, Menéndez R (2015) A novel approach for the production of chemically activated carbon fibers. Chem Eng J 260:463–468. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2014.08.104
Ju YW, Oh GY (2017) Behavior of toluene adsorption on activated carbon nanofibers prepared by electrospinning of a polyacrylonitrile-cellulose acetate blending solution. Korean J Chem Eng 34(10):2731–2737. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-017-0171-5
Huang YX, Ma E, Zhao GJ (2015) Thermal and structure analysis on reaction mechanisms during the preparation of activated carbon fibers by KOH activation from liquefied wood-based fibers. Ind Crop Prod 69:447–455. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2015.03.002
Keiluweit M, Nico PS, Johnson MG, Kleber M (2010) Dynamic molecular structure of plant biomass-derived black carbon (biochar). Environ Sci Technol 44(4):1247–1253. https://doi.org/10.1021/es9031419
Laskar II, Hashisho Z, Phillips JH, Anderson JE, Nichols M (2018) Competitive adsorption equilibrium modeling of volatile organic compound (VOC) and water vapor onto activated carbon. Sep Purif Technol 212:632–640. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2018.11.073
Li L, Liu S, Liu J (2011) Surface modification of coconut shell based activated carbon for the improvement of hydrophobic VOC removal. J Hazard Mater 192(2):683–690. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2011.05.069
Li MS, Wu SC, Peng YH, Shih YH (2016) Adsorption of volatile organic vapors by activated carbon derived from rice husk under various humidity conditions and its statistical evaluation by linear solvation energy relationships. Sep Purif Technol 170:102–108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2016.06.029
Meng FY, Song M, Wei YX, Wang YL (2019) The contribution of oxygen-containing functional groups to the gas-phase adsorption of volatile organic compounds with different polarities onto lignin-derived activated carbon fibers. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26(7):7195–7204. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-04190-6
Nar M, Rizvi HR, Dixon RA, Chen F, Kovalcik A, D'Souza N (2016) Superior plant based carbon fibers from electrospun poly-(caffeyl alcohol) lignin. Carbon 103:372–383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2016.02.053
Nthumbi RM, Ngila JC (2016) Electrospun and functionalized PVDF/PAN nanocatalyst-loaded composite for dechlorination and photodegradation of pesticides in contaminated water. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23(20):20214–20231. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7136-9
Pak SH, Jeon MJ, Jeon YW (2016) Study of sulfuric acid treatment of activated carbon used to enhance mixed VOC removal. Int Biodeterior Biodegradation 113:195–200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibiod.2016.04.019
Pei J, Zhang JS (2012) Determination of adsorption isotherm and diffusion coefficient of toluene on activated carbon at low concentrations. Build Environ 48:66–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2011.08.005
Ruiz-Rosas R, Bedia J, Lallave M, Loscertales IG, Barrero A, Rodríguez-Mirasol J, Cordero T (2010) The production of submicron diameter carbon fibers by the electrospinning of lignin. Carbon 48(3):696–705. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2009.10.014
Serna-Guerrero R, Sayari A (2007) Applications of pore-expanded mesoporous silica. 7. Adsorption of volatile organic compounds. Environ Sci Technol 41(13):4761–4766. https://doi.org/10.1021/es0627996
Shamskar KR, Rashidi A, Azar PA, Yousefi M, Baniyaghoob S (2019) Synthesis of graphene by in situ catalytic chemical vapor deposition of reed as a carbon source for VOC adsorption. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26(4):3643–3650. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3799-8
Song M, Jin BS, Xiao R, Yang L, Wu YM, Zhong ZP, Huang YJ (2013) The comparison of two activation techniques to prepare activated carbon from corn cob. Biomass Bioenergy 48(1):250–256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2012.11.007
Song M, Zhang W, Chen YS, Luo J, Crittenden JC (2017) The preparation and performance of lignin-based activated carbon fiber adsorbents for treating gaseous streams. Front Chem Sci Eng 11(3):328–337. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-017-1646-y
Stobinski L, Lesiak B, Kövér L, Tóth J, Biniak S, Trykowski G, Judek J (2010) Multiwall carbon nanotubes purification and oxidation by nitric acid studied by the FTIR and electron spectroscopy methods. J Alloy Compd 501(1):77–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2010.04.032
Streckova M, Mudra E, Orinakova R, Markusova-Buckova L, Sebek M, Kovalcikova A, Sopcak T, Girman V, Dankova Z, Micusik M, Dusza J (2016) Nickel and nickel phosphide nanoparticles embedded in electrospun carbon fibers as favourable electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution. Chem Eng J 303:167–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2016.05.147
Szabó T, Berkesi O, Forgó P, Josepovits K, SanakisY PD, Dékány I (2006) Evolution of surface functional groups in a series of progressively oxidized graphite oxides. Chem Mater 18(11):2740–2749. https://doi.org/10.1021/cm060258+
Wang SS, Zhang L, Long C, Li AM (2014) Enhanced adsorption and desorption of VOCs vapor on novel micro-mesoporous polymeric adsorbents. J Colloid Interf Sci 428:185–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2014.04.055
Wang D, Wu G, Zhao Y, Cui L, Shin CH, Ryu MH, Cai J (2018) Study on the copper(II)-doped MIL-101(Cr) and its performance in VOCs adsorption. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25(28):28109–28119. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2849-6
Yu XQ, Sun WL, Ni JR (2015) LSER model for organic compounds adsorption by single-walled carbon nanotubes: comparison with multi-walled carbon nanotubes and activated carbon. Environ Pollut 206:652–660. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2015.08.031
Yuan CG, Zhang Y, Wang S, Chang A (2011) Separation and preconcentration of palladium using modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes without chelating agent. Microchim Acta 173(3–4):361–367. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-011-0565-8
Zhang TY, Yang QS, Shi HX, Han C, Liu X (2010) Adsorption of naphthalene on a viscose-based activated carbon fiber. Acta Phys -Chim Sin 26(2):367–372. https://doi.org/10.3866/PKU.WHXB20100221
Zhang X, Gao B, Creamer AE, Cao CC, Li YC (2017) Adsorption of VOCs onto engineered carbon materials: a review. J Hazard Mater 338:102–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2017.05.013
Zhao X, Li X, Zhu T, Tang X (2018) Adsorption behavior of chloroform, carbon disulfide, and acetone on coconut shell-derived carbon: experimental investigation, simulation, and model study. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25(31):31219–31229. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3103-y
Funding
This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2018YFC1803100). The authors are grateful for Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20181142).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Song, M., Yu, L., Song, B. et al. Alkali promoted the adsorption of toluene by adjusting the surface properties of lignin-derived carbon fibers. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 22284–22294 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05456-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05456-9