Study on activated carbon derived from sewage sludge for adsorption of gaseous formaldehyde

The aim of this work is to evaluate the adsorption performances of activated carbon derived from sewage sludge (ACSS) for gaseous formaldehyde removal compared with three commercial activated carbons (CACs) using self-designing adsorption and distillation system. Formaldehyde desorption of the activated carbons for regeneration was also studied using thermogravimetric (TG) analysis. The porous structure and surface characteristics were studied using N2 adsorption and desorption isotherms, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results show that ACSS has excellent adsorption performance, which is overall superior to the CACs. Adsorption theory indicates that the ACSS outperforms the CACs due to its appropriate porous structure and surface chemistry characteristics for formaldehyde adsorption. The TG analysis of desorption shows that the optimum temperature to regenerate ACSS is 75 °C, which is affordable and economical for recycling.

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► Using activated carbon derived from sewage sludge (ACSS) for adsorption of gaseous formaldehyde to investigate the utilization of sewage sludge and formaldehyde treatment simultaneously.
► Self-designing adsorption and distillation system is used to measure the formaldehyde removal efficiency and adsorption capacity of activated carbons.
► Thermogravimetry (TG) is used to investigate the desorption performance of formaldehyde for regeneration.
► The results show that ACSS has excellent adsorption performance and regeneration characteristics, which is overall superior to some commercial activated carbons.