Highly mesoporous activated carbon products are disclosed with mesoporosities characterized by mesopore volumes of 0.7 to 1.0 cubic centimeters per gram or greater. Also disclosed are activated carbon products characterized by a Molasses Number of about 500 to 1000 or greater. Also disclosed are activated carbon products characterized by a Tannin Value of about 100 to 35 or less. The activated carbon products may be further characterized by total pore volumes of at least 0.85 cubic centimeters per gram and BET surface areas of at least about 800 square meters per gram. The activated carbon product may be derived from a renewable feedstock.

The present invention provides an improved sorbent and corresponding device(s) and uses thereof for the capture and stabilization of volatile organic compounds (VOC) or semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOC) from a gaseous atmosphere. The sorbent is capable of rapid and high uptake of one or more compounds and provides quantitative release (recovery) of the compound(s) when exposed to elevated temperature and/or organic solvent. Uses of particular improved grades of mesoporous silica are disclosed.

Polymeric sorbents for aldehydes including formaldehyde and acetaldehyde are provided. More particularly, the polymeric sorbents are sulfonic acid-containing polymeric materials with impregnated urea-based compounds. Additionally, methods of making the polymeric sorbent, methods of sorbing aldehydes (i.e., aldehydes that are volatile under use conditions) on the polymeric sorbents, compositions resulting from the sorption of aldehydes on the polymeric sorbents, and filters containing the polymeric sorbents are provided.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide for metal-organic materials (MOMs), systems that exhibit permanent porosity and using hydrophobic MOMs to separate components in a gas, methods of separating CO.sub.2 from a gas, and the like.

Provided herein are electret-MOF filter embedded with particles derived from metal-organic frameworks (MOF) and their methods of manufacturing. The methods of manufacturing the electret-MOF filter can include suspending MOF particles in a solvent to form a MOF particle mixture, contacting a charged polymeric fibrous web with the MOF particle mixture, and coating the charged polymeric fibrous web with the MOF particles by flowing the MOF particle mixture through an inverse side of the polymeric fibrous web. The disclosed coating method can deposit MOF particles uniformly, without formation of films at interstitial spaces between fibers. The electret-MOF filter can simultaneously remove fine particulate matters (PMs) and hazardous gaseous pollutants (including volatile organic compounds (VOCs)) with high particle holding and gas adsorption capacities, and with very low air resistance.

A method of remediation of soil and groundwater containing hydrocarbons and halogenated compounds. The method includes introducing a remediation composition into the soil that includes: (a) a first bioremediation material including a first blend of organisms capable of degrading the hydrocarbons; (b) a second bioremediation material including a second blend of organisms differing from the first blend of organisms that is chosen for degrading the halogenated compounds; (c) an organic compound such as a complex carbohydrate (e.g., food grade starch); and (d) a third blend of organisms degrading the organic compound. The degrading of the organic compound breaks the complex carbohydrate into smaller molecules that are utilized by the microorganisms of at least one of the first and second bioremediation materials during the degrading of the hydrocarbons and the halogenated compounds. The first bioremediation composition typically includes activated carbon capable of adsorbing the hydrocarbons and the halogenated compounds.

An adsorptive material for adsorption of a noble gas can include a mesoporous support material having a plurality of pores and a pattern of metal atoms deposited onto the mesoporous support material.

Disclosed herein are composite materials and methods of making and use thereof. The composite materials comprise: a carbon nanotube and a plurality of ferrihydrite particles disposed on the carbon nanotube, the composite material comprising the plurality of ferrihydrite particles and the carbon nanotube in a weight ratio of from 5:95 to 95:5. The weight ratio can be selected such that the composite material has a desired balance between specific surface area and specific capacitance. Also disclosed herein are methods comprising: making a plurality of the composite materials, the weight ratio of the plurality of ferrihydrite particles and the carbon nanotube being different for each composite material; and determining and comparing the specific surface area and specific surface capacitance for the plurality of composite materials to determine the weight ratio at which the composite material has a desired balance between the specific surface area and the specific capacitance.

The invention concerns new types of porous coordination polymers (MOF) and a method for their preparation. MOFs have been prepared through synthesis of salts of trivalent cations M.sup.3+, the source of which are aluminium, chromium, iron or yttrium salts, it is advantageous if of chlorides, nitrates or sulphates, with linkers carrying two or more phosphinic groups under presence of solvent. Linkers are phenylene-1,4-bis(R phosphinic acid) (PBPA) and biphenylene-4,4′-bis(R phosphinic acid) (BBPA). For the prepared MOFs, the structure has been tested using x-ray powder diffraction, specific surface and porousness which have been characterised through adsorption isotherm of nitrogen and further the stability of prepared MOFs has been determined using thermogravimetric analysis. All the prepared MOFs have been stable around 400° C. and have contained mesopores or micropores where hydrogen or CO.sub.2, for example, can be stored.

A method and reactor are disclosed for separating and removing heavy metals from wastewater using a sulfhydryl-modified nano-magnetized activated carbon. The method includes the steps of preparing a sulfhydryl-modified nano-magnetized activated carbon first; introducing heavy-metal-containing wastewater into a reactor which is equipped with a stirrer and keeping stirring, and then adding the sulfhydryl-modified nano-magnetized activated carbon, continuously stirring for a reaction; after reacting for a period, precipitating under a magnetic field generated by a magnet separator, discharging the resulting supernate, and then discharging the precipitated sludge.