Vapor Phase Adsorption of Homologous Aliphatic Ketones on Activated Spherical Carbon

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) contribute to more than half of the pollutants present in the atmosphere. Adsorption has been found to be a feasible and an effective method to separate and recover VOCs for further analysis. Activated Spherical Carbon (ASe) adhered onto woven fabric was used as the adsorbent for the present study. In this paper, we review the novel single vapor phase adsorption of homologous aliphatic ketone series -from propanone to hexanone onto ASC. The breakthrough time of propanone was fastest among all vapors; this behavior is attributed to its physico-chemical properties. The results show that physisorption plays a primary role in ketone removal. Another experiment was carried out to compare the adsorption trend of two pentanone isomers, wherein the breakthrough time of 2pentanone was more than that of 3-pentanone. The breakthrough characteristic shows that activated spherical carbon with an appropriate surface area could be utilized in controlling the volatile organic compounds to maintain and improve the ambient air quality. ASC woven fabric is effective in use as an adsorbent material which is light in weight and also suitable for protective clothing.