A rapid removal of xylene from air based on nano-activated carbon in the dynamic and static systems and compared to commercial activated carbon before determination by gas chromatography

As main air pollutants, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) must be paid special attention. In this study, the removal efficiency of xylene from the air was investigated by nano-activated carbons (NACs) as an efficient adsorbent and compared to commercial activated carbons (ACs). In the chamber, the xylene vapor in pure air was generated, stored in the airbag (5 Li), and moved to adsorbents. Then, the xylene vapor was absorbed on the NAC/AC adsorbents and desorbed from it by a heat accessory. The efficiency of xylene removal with NACs and ACs was investigated in the dynamic and static systems based on 100-700 mg L-1 of xylene, flow rates of 100 ml min-1, and 100 mg of adsorbent at a humidity of 32% (25°C). Xylene concentrations were determined by gas chromatography equipped with a flame ionization detector (GC-FID). In the batch system, the maximum absorption capacity for NACs and ACs was obtained at 205.2 mg g-1 and 116.8 mg g-1, respectively. The mean adsorption efficiency for NACs and ACs adsorbents was obtained at 98.5% and 76.55%, respectively. The RSD% for NACs ranged between 1.1-2.5% in optimized conditions. The characterizations of the NACs adsorbent showed that the particle-size range was between 35-100 nm. The results showed that the adsorption efficiency of NACs for removing xylene from the air was achieved more than ACs. The GC-MS validated the proposed procedure in real air samples.