Natural clay as raw and modified material for efficient o-xylene abatement

The performances of raw and modified clays to remove volatile organic compounds (VOC) from gaseous effluent were approached with the breakthrough curves. The experimental breakthrough curves were well fitted by Yoon and Nelson model with high accuracy in most cases. Physicochemical characterization of clay materials was carried out by several complementary techniques including XRF, XRD, TG-DTA and BET. Clay was modified with hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMA). The efficiency of raw and modified organoclays was compared to commercial alumina and activated carbon in optimized conditions. The interest of using modified organoclay for o-xylene abatement was demonstrated regarding its adsorption capacities (440.752 mmol g (1)) and the low cost of raw material (US$40/t) compared to commercial adsorbents. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.