Activated Carbon Fiber (ACF) as a Dual Respirator Media for Particulate Matter (PM) Filtration and Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Adsorption

Details

• Personal Author:
  McMahan, Brie M. ; Oh, Jonghwa ; Pillai, Renjith ; Thomas, Vinoy ; Appah, Mary ; Lungu, Claudiu T.
• Description:
  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.
• Subjects:
  Carbon Fiber Occupational Health Particulate Matter Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Safety Volatile Organic Compounds
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Adsorption; Aerosols; Filtration; Occupational Hygiene; Respiratory Protection Volatile Organic Compounds; VOCs; Particulates; Filter Materials; Filters; Respirators; Filtration; Respiratory Protection; Aerosols; Adsorption;
• ISSN:
  1545-9624
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Alabama ; Birmingham Region [OSHA]
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  RHD - Respiratory Health Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  12 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071153
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Hyg 2026 Jan; :[Epub ahead of print]
• Email:
  clungu@uab.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2026
• Performing Organization:
  University of Alabama at Birmingham
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• End Date:
  20270630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:249beea5774b77f0a5ea23bd38fff44e593bea68a1709c6a8b25677b88ac6e47ddbb53bf99384e5d5504860a5e6ee1af6650096a185327133e909116a2d0f5e0
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/257920/cdc_257920_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.82 MB ]