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Biocarbon with tailored properties for the adsorption of indoor
volatile organic compounds
Mariem Zouari1,2*, Laetitia Marrot 3, and David Brian DeVallance4
1 Innorenew CoE, Livade 6A, 6310 Izola, Slovenia, mariem.zouari@innorenew.eu
2 University of Primorska, Muzejski trg 2, 6000-Koper, Slovenia
3 ZAG fire laboratory, Obrtna cona Logatec 35, 1370 Logatec, Slovenia; laetitia.marrot@zag.si
4 College of Science and Technology, Commonwealth University, 401 North Fairview Street, Lock Haven, PA 17745, USA; ddevallanc@lockhaven.edu
* Corresponding author: Mariem Zouari, mariem.zouari@innorenew.eu
Volatile organic compounds (VOC) represent a significant group of airborne pollutants. Given their high toxicity
and hazard to human health, VOC occurrence in the indoor environment leads to sickness symptoms such as
nausea, headaches, and skin irritation known as sick building syndrome (Burge, 2004), which affects the wellness
of occupants. Long-term exposure to VOCs is also linked to chronic diseases like asthma and cancer. Therefore,
efforts are being made to reduce indoor VOC levels in offices and residential buildings.
VOC adsorption is a simple yet efficient technology for trapping pollutants from the air into porous support.
Carbonaceous materials are suitable for VOC adsorption due to their high porosity and large surface area. For
instance, activated carbon and carbon nanotubes and fibers are widely studied for VOC adsorption (Guo et
al., 2016; Lee et al., 2010). Nonetheless, the preparation of engineered carbon materials usually requires time
and energy besides the utilisation of chemicals. Biocarbon, prepared from organic feedstock, is a cheap and
renewable alternative. However, biocarbon has not been well investigated for the purposes of VOC adsorption
as it was claimed that the properties of biocarbon, namely surface area and microporosity, require further
development to improve the adsorption capacity.
In this study biocarbon was prepared from demineralised Arundo Donax and olive stone by-product at variable
temperatures (300 °C, 400 °C, 500 °C, 600 °C, 700 °C, and 800 °C). The prepared biocarbon samples were
ball-milled to further increase the surface area and pore volume. The samples were characterised by proximate
thermogravimetric, scanning electron microscopy, and physisorption analyses and tested for their capacity to
adsorb VOCs at ambient conditions. The effect of carbonisation temperature on the efficiency of biocarbon in
air remediation was assessed and will be presented.
Keywords: Biocarbon, pyrolysis temperature, volatile organic compounds, adsorption
REFERENCES
Burge, P.S., 2004. Sick building syndrome. Occup. Environ. Med. 61, 185–190. https://doi.org/10.1136/
oem.2003.008813
Guo, Z., Huang, J., Xue, Z., Wang, X., 2016. Electrospun graphene oxide/carbon composite nanofibers with well-
developed mesoporous structure and their adsorption performance for benzene and butanone. Chem. Eng. J.
306, 99–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2016.07.048
Lee, K.J., Shiratori, N., Lee, G.H., Miyawaki, J., Mochida, I., Yoon, S.-H., Jang, J., 2010. Activated carbon nanofiber
produced from electrospun polyacrylonitrile nanofiber as a highly efficient formaldehyde adsorbent. Carbon
48, 4248–4255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2010.07.034
17–18 NOVEMBER 2022 I IZOLA, SLOVENIA 13
volatile organic compounds
Mariem Zouari1,2*, Laetitia Marrot 3, and David Brian DeVallance4
1 Innorenew CoE, Livade 6A, 6310 Izola, Slovenia, mariem.zouari@innorenew.eu
2 University of Primorska, Muzejski trg 2, 6000-Koper, Slovenia
3 ZAG fire laboratory, Obrtna cona Logatec 35, 1370 Logatec, Slovenia; laetitia.marrot@zag.si
4 College of Science and Technology, Commonwealth University, 401 North Fairview Street, Lock Haven, PA 17745, USA; ddevallanc@lockhaven.edu
* Corresponding author: Mariem Zouari, mariem.zouari@innorenew.eu
Volatile organic compounds (VOC) represent a significant group of airborne pollutants. Given their high toxicity
and hazard to human health, VOC occurrence in the indoor environment leads to sickness symptoms such as
nausea, headaches, and skin irritation known as sick building syndrome (Burge, 2004), which affects the wellness
of occupants. Long-term exposure to VOCs is also linked to chronic diseases like asthma and cancer. Therefore,
efforts are being made to reduce indoor VOC levels in offices and residential buildings.
VOC adsorption is a simple yet efficient technology for trapping pollutants from the air into porous support.
Carbonaceous materials are suitable for VOC adsorption due to their high porosity and large surface area. For
instance, activated carbon and carbon nanotubes and fibers are widely studied for VOC adsorption (Guo et
al., 2016; Lee et al., 2010). Nonetheless, the preparation of engineered carbon materials usually requires time
and energy besides the utilisation of chemicals. Biocarbon, prepared from organic feedstock, is a cheap and
renewable alternative. However, biocarbon has not been well investigated for the purposes of VOC adsorption
as it was claimed that the properties of biocarbon, namely surface area and microporosity, require further
development to improve the adsorption capacity.
In this study biocarbon was prepared from demineralised Arundo Donax and olive stone by-product at variable
temperatures (300 °C, 400 °C, 500 °C, 600 °C, 700 °C, and 800 °C). The prepared biocarbon samples were
ball-milled to further increase the surface area and pore volume. The samples were characterised by proximate
thermogravimetric, scanning electron microscopy, and physisorption analyses and tested for their capacity to
adsorb VOCs at ambient conditions. The effect of carbonisation temperature on the efficiency of biocarbon in
air remediation was assessed and will be presented.
Keywords: Biocarbon, pyrolysis temperature, volatile organic compounds, adsorption
REFERENCES
Burge, P.S., 2004. Sick building syndrome. Occup. Environ. Med. 61, 185–190. https://doi.org/10.1136/
oem.2003.008813
Guo, Z., Huang, J., Xue, Z., Wang, X., 2016. Electrospun graphene oxide/carbon composite nanofibers with well-
developed mesoporous structure and their adsorption performance for benzene and butanone. Chem. Eng. J.
306, 99–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2016.07.048
Lee, K.J., Shiratori, N., Lee, G.H., Miyawaki, J., Mochida, I., Yoon, S.-H., Jang, J., 2010. Activated carbon nanofiber
produced from electrospun polyacrylonitrile nanofiber as a highly efficient formaldehyde adsorbent. Carbon
48, 4248–4255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2010.07.034
17–18 NOVEMBER 2022 I IZOLA, SLOVENIA 13
