• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.32 no.10
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• pp.936-941
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• 2010

This study was conducted to investigate formaldehyde removals by silver nano-particles attached on the surface of granular activated carbon (Ag-AC) and to compare the results to those obtained with ordinary activated carbon (AC). The BET analysis showed that the overall surface area and the fraction of micropores (less than $20{\AA}$ diameter) of the Ag-AC were significantly decreased because the silver particles blocked the small pores on the surface of the Ag-AC. The formaldehyde removal capacity of the Ag-AC determined using the Freundlich isotherm was higher than that of AC. Despite the decreased BET surface area and micropore volume, the Ag-AC had the increased removal capacity for formaldehyde, presumably due to catalytic oxidation by silver nano-particles. In contrast, the adsorption intensity of the Ag-AC, estimated by 1/n in the Freundlich isotherm equation, was similar to that of the ordinary AC, indicating that the surface modification using silver nano-particles did not affect the adsorption characteristics of AC. In a column experiment, the Ag-AC also showed a longer breakthrough time than that of the AC. Simulation results using the homogeneous surface diffusion model (HSDM) were well fitted to the breakthrough curve of formaldehyde for the ordinary AC, but the predictions showed substantial deviations from the experimental data for the Ag-AC. The discrepancy was due to the catalytic oxidation of silver nano-particles that was not incorporated in the HSDM. Consequently, a new numerical model that takes the catalytic oxidation into accounts needs to be developed to predict the combined oxidation and adsorption process more accurately.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.396-399
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• 2007

In present work, the anti-bacterial effect of silver/activated carbon (Ag/C) composites prepared by the ${\gamma}$-irradiation of $AgNO_3$ solution on Escherichia coli (E. coli) has been studied. Characteristics of the Ag/C composites were identified by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). The inhibitory concentration of E. coli was found to be 0.387 ppm and the sterilizing concentration for the tested organism was 1.017 ppm. These results support the evidence that Ag/C composites have strong antibacterial activity to E. coli.

• Clean Technology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.285-292
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• 2022

Adsorption tower systems based on activated carbon adsorption towers have mainly been employed to reduce the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a major cause of air pollution. However, the activated carbon currently used in these systems has a short lifespan and thus requires frequent replacement. An approach to overcome this shortcoming could be to develop metal oxide photocatalysis-activated carbon composites capable of degrading VOCs by simultaneously utilizing photocatalytic activation and powerful adsorption by activated carbon. TiO₂ has primarily been used as a metal oxide photocatalyst, but it has low economic efficiency due to its high cost. In this study, ZnO particles were synthesized as a photocatalyst due to their relatively low cost. Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were deposited on the ZnO surface to compensate for the photocatalytic deactivation that arises from the wide band gap of ZnO. A microfluidic process was used to synthesize ZnO particles and Ag NPs in separate reactors and the solutions were continuously supplied with a pack bed reactor loaded with activated carbon powder. This microfluidic-assisted pack bed reactor efficiently prepared a Ag-ZnO-activated carbon composite for VOC removal. Analysis confirmed that Ag-ZnO photocatalytic particles were successfully deposited on the surface of the activated carbon. Conducting a toluene gasbag test and adsorption breakpoint test demonstrated that the composite had a more efficient removal performance than pure activated carbon. The process proposed in this study efficiently produces photocatalysis-activated carbon composites and may offer the potential for scalable production of VOC removal composites.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.361-367
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• 2016

Pollutants removal and disinfection effect of secondary effluent from final settling tank of sewage treatment plant of W city were investigated in Loop Reactor using ordinary granular activated carbon(GAC) and GAC coated with silver nanoparticles. The results showed that the removal efficiency of $COD_{Mn}$, T-N and T-P using GAC with silver nanoparticles were higher than using the ordinary GAC. The removal efficiency of T-P using GAC with silver nanoparticles is 45.4% and that of T-P using ordinary GAC is 30.9% in the same case of the input amount of 20 g/L of GAC. The total califorms is reduced according to increasing input amount of GAC with silver nanoparticles and ordinary GAC. The disinfection efficiency of total coliforms in case of GAC with silver nanoparticles is much higher than that in case of ordinary GAC. For all experiments using the silver nanoparticles, the total coliforms is under 26 cfu/mL and this shows very excellent disinfection effect.

• Proceedings of the SAREK Conference
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• 2009.06a
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• pp.739-744
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• 2009

The filter has long been used in purification processes for indoor air quality. To determine the deodorization effect of several filter materials in a full-scale air-handling system, the present study has been carried out using a wind tunnel equipped with a heat exchanger and various filter materials, such as commercial fabric, activated carbon(AC) and silver nano-particles attached to activated carbon(Ag-AC). The experiment was conducted using an odor substance with ammonia, acetaldehyde, acetic acid. The results obtained indicate that odor substance is substantially decreased on the moisture condensation on the surface of the heat exchanger. The fabric filter has no effect for removal of odor substances. The deodorization efficiency is found to be approximately 7% in the AC filter, while the deodorization efficiency is increased up to 10% using the Ag-AC filter.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.21 no.10
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• pp.583-589
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• 2009

Activated carbon has long been used in purification processes for indoor air quality. However, the bioaerosol removal by activated carbon is not often sufficient to be used in an air control devise. In order to overcome these problems, silver nano-particles have been proposed as an antibacterial agent on the surface of activated carbon. Silver or silver ions have been known for antimicrobial activities. In this study, bioaerosol generated by using an Escherichia coli culture was introduced to a lab-scale column packed with activated carbon (AC) and silver nano-particles attached to activated carbon (Ag-AC). E. coli was almost completely removed in the Ag-AC column, whereas bioaerosol penetrated through the AC column. To determine the antibacterial effect of different filter materials in a full-scale air-handling system, another experiment was conducted using a wind tunnel equipped with a heat exchanger and three filter materials including commercial fabric, AC and Ag-AC. It was found that E. coli proliferated on the surface of the heat exchanger after 5 days, which dramatically increased bioaerosol counts in the effluent air stream. The fabric filter could not control the increased bioaerosol and most of the E. coli penetrated the filter. The bacterial removal efficiency was found to be approximately 45% in the AC filter, while the antibacterial efficiency increased to 70% using the Ag-AC filter. Consequently, the Ag-AC filter can be an effective method to control bioaerosol and improve indoor air quality.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.68-76
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• 2017

Flat membrane with $0.4{\mu}m$ pore size was prepared with PVdF (polyvinylidene fluoride) nanofiber, which has the advantages such as excellent strength, chemical resistance, non-toxicity, and incombustibility. The spiral wound module was manufactured with the flat membrane and a woven paper. Hybrid water treatment process was composed of the PVdF nanofibers spiral wound microfiltration and granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorption column. Effect of GAC packing mass was investigated by comparing the case of recycling or discharging the treated water using the synthetic solution of kaolin and humic acid. After each filtration experiment, water back-washing was performed, and recovery rate and filtration resistances were calculated. Also, effect of GAC adsorption was compared by measuring turbidity and $UV_{254}$ absorbance. As a result, there was no effect of GAC packing mass on turbidity treatment rate; however, the treatment rate of $UV_{254}$ absorbance was 0.7~3.6% for recycling the treated water, and increased to 3.2-5.7% for discharging the treated water. In the case of recycling the treated water, reversible filtration resistance ($R_r$) and irreversible filtration resistance ($R_{ir}$) trended to decrease as increasing GAC packing mass; however, total fitration resistance ($R_t$) was almost constant, and recovery rate of water back-washing trended to increase a little.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.353-360
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• 2014

This study targets the pollutant removal of secondary effluent from final clarifiers in wastewater treatment plant using silver nanoparticles on activated carbon. The removal efficiency and treatment characteristics of pollutant are anlayzed by perfoming experiments using granular activated carbon with silver nanoparticles and ordinary granular activated carbon. The specific surface area of granular activated carbon with silver nanoparticles is smaller than that of ordinary granular activated carbon. However, the removal efficiency of $COD_{Mn}$, T-N and T-P in experiments using activated carbon with silver nanoparticles are higher than that in experiment using ordinary granular activated carbon. That means the case of activated carbon with silver nanoparticles is much better at treatment activity. In addition, activated carbon with silver nanoparticles has antimicrobial activity because there is no microbe on the surface of it after experiments.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.1-6
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• 2021

Mercury, once released, is not destroyed but accumulates and circulates in the natural environment, causing serious harm to ecosystems and human health. In the United States, sulfur-impregnated activated carbon is being considered for the removal of vapor mercury from the flue gas of coal-fired power plants, which accounts for about 32 % of the anthropogenic emissions of mercury. In this study, a high-efficiency porous mercury adsorption material was developed to reduce the mercury vapor in the exhaust gas of coal combustion facilities, and the mercury adsorption characteristics of the material were investigated. As a result of the investigation of the vapor mercury adsorption capacity at 30℃, the silica nanotube MCM-41 was only about 35 % compared to the activated carbon Darco FGD commercially used for mercury adsorption, but it increased to 133 % when impregnated with 1.5 % sulfur. In addition, the furnace fly ash recovered from the waste copper regeneration process showed an efficiency of 523 %. Furthermore, the adsorption capacity was investigated at temperatures of 30 ℃, 80 ℃, and 120 ℃, and the best adsorption performance was found to be 80 ℃. MCM-41 is a silica nanotube that can be reused many times due to its rigid structure and has additional advantages, including no possibility of fire due to the formation of hot spots, which is a concern when using activated carbon.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.15-20
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• 2003

During operation process of SIES(Selective ion exchange system) at Kori Unit 2, it was impossible to remove radionuclides such as ion form and Ag-110m, etc., because activated carbon and ion exchange resin of this system are fouled easily by suspended solids and oils in liquid radwaste that was flowed in this system. In this study, an experiment to improve quality of water which was flowed in SIES was performed. and design data of Scale-up pretreatment process were secured. Also, each module design for Microfiltration and Nanofiltration unit of the pretreatment process for SIES was performed.