Factors Affecting the Removal of Ammonia from Air on Carbonaceous Materials

Air pollution related to the release of industrial toxic gases represents one of the main concerns of the modern world due to its detrimental effect on the environment. To tackle this growing issue, efficient ways to reduce/control the release of pollutants are required. Adsorption of gases on porous materials appears as one potential solution. However, the physisorption of small molecules of gases such as ammonia is limited at ambient conditions. For their removal, adsorbents providing strong adsorption forces must be developed. 

In this study, new carbon-based materials are prepared and tested for ammonia adsorption at ambient conditions. Characterization of the adsorbents’ texture and surface chemistry is performed before and after exposure to ammonia to identify the features responsible for high adsorption capacity and for controlling the mechanisms of retention. The characterization techniques include: nitrogen adsorption, thermal analysis, potentiometric titration, FT-IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Electron Microscopy.