Preliminary Study on Adsorption and Degradation of Methyl Bromide by Activated Carbon

摘要

Preventing emissions of methyl bromide is important for the recovery of the ozone layer. Methyl bromide is routinely emitted from fumigation facilities which could be prevented with equipment to capture the emissions. We examined the ability of activated carbon from coconut fibre to absorb methyl bromide. We showed that about 94 to 98% of the methyl bromide held in a tank was absorbed by activated carbon and not vented. About 95% of the methyl bromide was decomposed from the carbon using water at 80℃ for 16h. We showed regenerated carbon could be reused for recovering more methyl bromide and it seemed to be little affected by a previous absorptive use. The properties of water and carbon together at 80℃ may be more effective at decomposing methyl bromide, rather than dry heat which requires temperatures as high as 900℃.