Characterization of Volatile Organic Compounds Absorption and Desorption by Solid Silicone under Shock-Loading Conditions

Abstract

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) absorption and desorption capacity of silicone rubber (SR) and silicone foam (SF) was characterized under shock loading conditions to evaluate their potential as VOCs absorbents in the printing industry. Specifically, the absorption and desorption of two target VOCs (n-nonane and toluene) were evaluated using columns packed with either SR and SF. The n-nonane absorption of SR and SF was 29.5±11.2 and 14.5±2.9 mg-VOCs/mL-absorbent, respectively. The toluene absorption of SR and SF was 9.7±3.1 and 4.8±0.4 mg-VOCs/mL-absorbent, respectively. In both cases, the absorbed VOCs could be completely desorbed. However, the n-nonane desorption rate was faster in the SR column, whereas the toluene desorption rate was faster in the SF column. Damping performance was evaluated by calculating the difference between the VOCs peak concentration at the inlet and outlet of the reactor packed with SR or SF under VOCs shock loading conditions. The damping efficiencies of n-nonane and toluene in the reactor packed with SR were 88%-89%, whereas those of the SF reactor were 89%-90% for n-nonane and 72%-77% for toluene. The results indicate that solid silicones are promising absorbents to reduce VOCs discharge concentrations and enhance the efficiency of current VOCs treatment procedures. © 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.