The photocatalytic degradation of the vapor odor of skim natural rubber latex, which is composed of volatile organic compounds (VOCs-NR), was conducted using iron-doped zinc oxide (Fe-ZnO) photocatalyst nanoparticles. The research objectives were to study the photocatalyst, to develop the photocatalytic reactor used for the photodegradation of VOCs-NR, and to analyze the odor reduction of the degraded VOCs-NR. Fe-ZnO was prepared by the sol-gel method and immobilized onto fiberglass cloth as the support material, followed by annealing. The Fe-ZnO nanoparticles were dispersed on the fiberglass surface. A photocatalytic reactor was developed for the gas phase. The research findings showed that gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy detected 24 dominant chemical components in the VOC-NR stock before photocatalytic degradation. The components decreased to 11 after 30 min, only 3 components remained after 40 min of the photocatalytic process, and no component was observed after 80 min of photoirradiation. An organoleptic test was conducted to validate that the odor degraded to a very low level.
This study explored a simple preparation and characterization of the activated carbon and cloth from the palm kernel shell and compared it to the commercial-water-filter-carbon specification. A new pyrolysis chamber that is easily scaled up using the palm kernel shell itself as a heat source was tested. Two different steps were compared: the alkaline activation process performed before or after the carbonation process in the palm-kernel-shell carbon preparation. The palm-kernel-shell activated carbons prepared with the current method fulfilled the standard quality of activated charcoal except for the ash content. The sequencing step of the preparation affected the adsorption capacity. Instead of the reverse sequence, the soaking palm kernel shells in NaOH before the carbonation process lead to a higher adsorption capacity. The carbon particle stability on the cloth surface was affected by both the adhesive concentration and its size. The ammonia adsorption capacity of activated carbon cloth (ACC) was between 1–4 mg ammonia per g stuck carbon. The preparation and the carbon type source on ACC affected the adsorption capacity. The ACC absorbed and lessened the skim latex odor vapor, nearly odorless depending on the ACC area and the volume of odor vapor.
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