Performance comparison of MOF and other sorbent materials in removing key odorants emitted from pigpen slurry

A batch-type dynamic headspace (HS) system was used to generate vapor-phase volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from a pigpen slurry sample. Sorptive removal capability of MOF-199 and other sorbents (zeolite (ZL) and activated carbon (AC)) was assessed against a total of 13 slurry-borne odorants ((methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), isobutyl alcohol (i-BuAl), benzene (B), toluene (T), p-xylene (p-X), m-xylene (m-X), o-xylene (o-X), styrene (S), o-cresol (o-C), phenol (PhAl), p-cresol (p-C), indole (ID), and skatole (SK)). Adsorption capacity of MOF-199 and two sorbents, when assessed for the 13 odorants at a 10% breakthrough volume (BTV), was 22.6 ± 42.3, 0.70 ± 1.08, and 11.0 ± 18.3 μg g(−1), respectively. The adsorption capacity (μg g(−1)) assessed at 10% BTV showed the superiority of MOF-199 towards phenolic and indolic compounds (such as o-C (0.31 ± 0.04), PhAl (61.6 ± 4.98), p-C (140 ± 7.95), ID (27.8 ± 2.23), and SK (63.9 ± 1.55)), demonstrating the feasibility of MOF as sorption media for treating certain nuisance components.