Reactive Adsorption Performance and Behavior of Gaseous Cumene on MCM-41 Supported Sulfuric Acid

Efficient removal of cumene from gaseous streams and recovery of its derivatives was accomplished using a MCM-41-supported sulfuric acid (SSA/MCM-41) adsorbent. The results indicated that the removal performance of the SSA/MCM-41 for cumene was significantly influenced by the process conditions such as bed temperature, inlet concentration, bed height, and flow rate. The dose-response model could perfectly describe the collected breakthrough adsorption data. The SSA/MCM-41 adsorbent exhibited a reactive temperature region of 120-170 °C, in which the cumene removal ratios (X_c) were greater than 97%. Rising the bed height or reducing the flow rate enhanced the theoretical adsorption performance metrics, such as theoretical breakthrough time (t_B,th) and theoretical breakthrough adsorption capacity (Q_B,th), whereas increasing the inlet concentration resulted in t_B,th shortening and Q_B,th rising. As demonstrated in this paper, the highest t_B,th and Q_B,th were 69.60 min and 324.50 mg g^-1, respectively. Meanwhile, the spent SSA/MCM-41 could be desorbed and regenerated for cyclic reuse. Moreover, two recoverable adsorbed products, 4-isopropylbenzenesulfonic acid and 4, 4'-sulfonyl bis(isopropyl-benzene), were successfully separated and identified using FTIR and ¹H/¹³C NMR characterization. Accordingly, the relevance of a reactive adsorption mechanism was confirmed. This study suggests that the SSA/MCM-41 has remarkable potential for application as an adsorbent for the resource treatment of cumene pollutants.