The present invention provides activated carbon with which hydrophilicity is excellent and the amount of steam adsorbed is increased, and provides a method for producing this activated carbon. This activated carbon is characterized in that the amount of basic functional groups in the activated carbon is 0.470 meq/m.sup.2 or greater. Preferably the amount of basic groups per specific surface area of activated carbon is 0.200 μeq/m.sup.2 or greater and the ratio of the amount of basic functional groups and the amount of acidic functional groups (basic functional groups/acidic functional groups) is 1.00 or greater. This method for producing activated carbon is characterized in comprising a step for imparting basic functional groups by bringing the activated carbon into contact with a basic substance. According to a preferred embodiment, the method comprises a step for heating the resulting activated carbon in an insert atmosphere.

The present disclosure provides a preparation method of a porous hydrogel adsorbent based on Radix Astragali residues, including the following steps: subjecting residues of Chinese herbal medicine Radix Astragali as a precursor to bleaching with NaClO.sub.2, alkaline washing with KOH, and high power ultrasonic treatment, thereby obtaining a precursor solution of uniformly dispersed cellulose nanofibers (CNFs); adding the precursor solution of CNFs to a mixed solution of N,N′-methylene bisacrylamide (MBA), acrylic acid (AA) and ammonium persulfate (APS), shaking evenly, and initiating a polymerization reaction at a predetermined temperature to form a monolithic gel; and cleaning the monolithic gel, putting the cleaned monolithic gel into a dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) solution containing epichlorohydrin to allow reaction, and transferring the product of the reaction to an aqueous sodium hydroxide solution containing triethylene tetramine to allow reaction, thereby finally obtaining an amino-functionalized porous hydrogel adsorbent.

A method for producing a fluorinated carbon adsorbent which involves digesting rice husk, sulfonating the digested rice husk, and fluorinating the sulfonated rice husk. The method yields a fluorinated carbon adsorbent material having an adsorption capacity for CO.sub.2 of 1.6 to 2.5 mmol/g, an adsorption capacity for CH.sub.4 of 0.4 to 0.8 mmol/g, and an adsorption capacity for N.sub.2 of 0.1 to 0.4 mmol/g, at a temperature of 273 to 298 K and a pressure of 0.75 to 1.5 atm. Also disclosed is a method for separating a mixture of gases using the fluorinated carbon adsorbent.

A method for preparing a nano-enabled activated carbon block, a nano-enabled activated carbon block produced by the method, a household water filtration system comprising the nano-enabled activated carbon block, and a method for filtering tap water using the household water filtration system are provided. The method includes contacting a solution including a metal(lic) precursor (e.g. a titanium compound and/or an iron compound and/or a zirconium compound) with activated carbon particles such that the solution fills pores of the activated carbon particles. The method further includes causing a metal (hydr)oxide (e.g. titanium dioxide and/or zirconium dioxide and/or iron oxide) to precipitate from the solution thereby causing metal oxide nanoparticles to become deposited within pores of the activated carbon particles. The method also includes preparing a nano-enabled activated carbon block from the activated carbon particles having metal oxide nanoparticles deposited within the pores thereof.

Methods for producing porous graphic carbon microspheres having improved separation properties over conventional porous graphitic carbons. The methods include dispersing a monovinyl aromatic monomer, a polyvinyl aromatic monomer, and an initiator in a solvent, contacting porous silica microspheres with the monomer dispersion for a time sufficient for the monomers to coat the porous silica microspheres, polymerizing the monomers to form copolymer coated microspheres, sulfonating the copolymer, pyrolyzing the sulfonated copolymer, digesting the carbon microspheres to dissolve the silica leaving porous carbon microspheres, pyrolyzing the porous carbon microspheres, and graphitizing the porous carbon microspheres to form porous graphitic carbon microspheres. Further provided are improved porous graphitic carbon microspheres and chromatography columns including the improved porous graphitic carbon microspheres described herein.

This invention relates to metal organic framework (MOF) compositions, methods of preparing them and methods of using them. The MOF compositions are characterized in that at least a portion of the linker molecule is an amino containing organic linker. The MOF also has a crystal size of greater than 1 μm and has been treated with an acid wash to provide a MOF in which at least 55% of the amino groups are activated amino groups of the form —NH.sub.2. The MOF compositions are useful in adsorbing various contaminants from various gas stream. One specific example is adsorbing NO.sub.2 from an air stream.

The disclosure provides a modified cyclodextrin/mesoporous silica for adsorbing Pb and Cd and application thereof, belonging to the technical field of adsorbent materials. By using surface modification, chloroacetic acid is used as anions, and a modified cyclodextrin is grafted onto a surface of a cyclodextrin/mesoporous silica by nucleophilic substitution to prepare the modified cyclodextrin/mesoporous silica adsorbent material. The modified cyclodextrin/mesoporous silica adsorbent material prepared in the disclosure has the advantages of simple preparation method, strong adsorbability, easy separation, good biocompatibility and the like. When the material is used as an adsorbent to adsorb heavy metal ions Pb.sup.2+ and Cd.sup.2+, maximum removal rates can reach 97.8% and 81.29% respectively. Therefore, the material has wide application prospects in removal of heavy metals in sewage and the like, thereby improving the water environment that people depend on for survival.

A specially functionalized composite filter material with a high specific surface area is used to adsorb PFAs from potable water. In a preferred embodiment, the base filter material is granular activated carbon (GAC), which is sequentially coated with a thin layer of polydopamine, a thin layer of partially oxidized iron, and a thin coating of octadecylamine. After PFAs are adsorbed onto the coated GAC particles, the PFAs are removed by a rinsing process, and remain in the rinse effluent. GAC particles are recovered and recoated as needed to restore their adsorptive capacity. The PFA-containing effluent is treated using photochemical processes to destroy the PFA molecules. The now PFA-free effluent can be disposed of as a non-hazardous material. The composite filter material works in systems ranging from small passive systems for personal use to large scale, high-flow-rate utility water treatment systems.

Provided herein are methods of reducing bioburden of a chromatography resin that include exposing a container including a composition including (i) a chromatography resin and (ii) a liquid including at least on alcohol to a dose of gamma-irradiation sufficient to reduce the bioburden of the container and the chromatography resin, where the at least one alcohol are present in an amount sufficient to ameliorate the loss of binding capacity of the chromatography resin after/upon exposure to the dose of gamma-irradiation. Also provided are reduced bioburden chromatography columns including the reduced bioburden chromatography resin, compositions including a chromatography resin and a liquid including at least one alcohol, methods of performing reduced bioburden column chromatography using one of these reduced bioburden chromatography columns, and integrated, closed, and continuous processes for reduced bioburden manufacturing of a purified recombinant protein.

The present invention relates to zeolite adsorbents based on agglomerated crystals of zeolite(s) comprising barium and strontium These adsorbents have applications in the separation of fractions of aromatic C8 isomers and in particular xylene.