Comparable investigation of polyaniline behavior towards gaseous ammonia and toluene adsorption

With raising awareness of gaseous air pollutants and their harmful impact, adsorption is considered one of the most prominent techniques for gaseous emissions control. The usage of polyaniline as a gas adsorbent is an innovative idea. This work aims to compare the efficacy of synthesized polyaniline nanotubes (PANT) as a novel adsorbent towards inorganic gases (ammonia NH3) and volatile organic compounds (toluene vapor). PANT was prepared via a sol-gel preparation technique. The molecular structure of prepared PANT was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The morphological structure was confirmed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The PANT adsorbent surface area was determined using Brunner Emmett Teller (BET). Dynamic behavior of simulated feed gas mixture of NH3 and toluene in air were examined using a fixed bed adsorption arrangement. The same adsorption conditions (inlet concentration, gas mixture feed flow rate, and a fixed amount of adsorbent) were applied for both NH3 and toluene adsorption test. The NH3 and toluene removal efficiencies were 100% and 96% respectively. Consequently, PANT is an auspicious adsorbent that can be utilized to control the indoor and outdoor gaseous air emissions.