• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.420-430
• /
• 2005

This study was performed to change the hydrophilic $NH_4Y$-zeolite to the hydrophobic one for removal of VOCs by removing the $Al^{3+}$ in the zeolite-structure to increase the Si/Al ratio, for which the three pelleted $NH_4Y$-zeolite samples were contacted separately with the steam of $400^{\circ}C$, $500^{\circ}C$ and $600^{\circ}C$, respectively, in a stainless steel column for 4 hours. Then extraction of the ex-structure aluminum of the hydrolyzed zeolites with the nitric acids of 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 0.10 M at $90^{\circ}C$ in 500 mL-flasks, respectively, according to steam temperature were followed. XRD analysises of the dealuminated zeolites showed that the peaks of the zeolites that had been hydrolyzed with the steams of both $500^{\circ}C$ and $600^{\circ}C$ are distorted more with the increase of the concentration of nitric acid used for extraction of the ex-structure aluminums, however, those hydrolyzed with steam of $400^{\circ}C$ became amorphous phase when treated with the all nitric acids of four concentrations. Also the EDX analysises showed that the BET surface areas and TPVS of the zeolites that had been hydrolyzed with the steam of $600^{\circ}C$ were increased with the concentration of the nitric acid when the nitric acids of 0.25 M and 0.5 M had been used but decreased when the nitric acids of 0.75 M and 1.0 M had been used. These results led to the conclusion that both the $600^{\circ}C$ and $500^{\circ}C$-steam and the 0.5 M-nitric acid are appropriate to change the hydrophilic $NH_4Y$-zeolites to the hydrophobic one, which were proven by the measurement of the benzene and tolune-adsorbing capacities showing the same trend as the BET surface area and TPV The Si/Al ratios and water-adsorbing capacities of the dealuminated zeolites were increased and decreased, respectively, with the concentration of the nitric acids so that it showed that the hydrophobicity is increased.