Eliminating carcinogens in environment: Degradation of volatile nitrosamines by Zeolites Y and ZSM-5

To open the new application of zeolite in protection of environment and public health, degradation of volatile nitrosamines in zeolite Y and ZSM-5 is studied to explore the influence of pore structure and cation of zeolite on the reaction, and the impact of reaction conditions, including different carrier gas and pre-adsorbed moisture and amines, on the decomposition of N-nitrosopyrrolidine (NPYR) is also examined. NPYR can be degraded by these zeolites with sodium cation, and the possible degradation path is discussed. Due to the bigger pore size and the larger pore volume, zeolite NaY can adsorb and degrade more NPYR than NaZSM-5 and in general the acidic zeolite exhibits a higher activity than its basic analogue to decompose nitrosamines.