Removal of Toluene over NaX Zeolite Exchanged with Cu2+

Abstract

Toluene is a major air pollutant emitted from painting and metal coating processes and might have some health effects. Adsorption and catalytic complete oxidation are promising ways to retain or convert toluene into harmless products. The present work aims to develop a bifunctional material which can be used as an adsorbent and catalyst for low-temperature toluene removal. Copper zeolites were obtained by exchanging the sodium in the parent NaX zeolite with copper from aqueous solutions of Cu(NO3)2∙2.5H2O. Several characterization techniques, H2-TPR, XPS, XRD and N2 physisorption, were used in order to evaluate the redox, surface, structural and textural properties of the materials, respectively. The various materials were tested in adsorption and catalytic processes. The sample with low copper content (1 wt. %) exhibited promising features in terms of toluene adsorption capacity and total oxidation. The results can be correlated to the presence of micropores and well-dispersed CuO species.

Keywords

• VOC
• toluene
• catalytic oxidation
• adsorption
• zeolite
• copper