Activated carbon fiber (ACF) as a dual respirator media for particulate matter (PM) filtration and volatile organic compound (VOC) adsorption

Exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter (PM) can cause adverse health effects such as pneumoconiosis-like symptoms, acute toxicity, and carcinogenesis. The present work aimed to test activated carbon fiber (ACF) as air-purifying media capable of dual-protection from both PM and VOC and evaluated the interaction between filtration efficiency (FE) and VOC retention by using breakthrough times. The first set of experiments exposed ACF 1200 (1,200 m²/g nominal surface area) to the VOC toluene at the permissible exposure limit (200 ppm) prior to introducing PM (NaCl, 200 mg/m³) into the airstream, and the second set of experiments introduced VOC into the airstream after PM exposure. Study findings suggest that ACF 1200 demonstrated a somewhat greater adsorption capacity (g/g) for toluene when PM was present, recording a value of 0.319 g/g, compared to 0.213 g/g in its absence. A slight decline in FE was observed in 1, and 4-layer combinations following initial exposure to VOCs. These findings suggest that the presence of PM may enhance ACFs' adsorption of VOCs; however, the presence of toluene seemed to affect ACF filtration performance to a lesser degree. Understanding these interactions is necessary for the ongoing development of ACF as dual respirator media for both PM and VOCs.