Abstract

A newly developed Cu-BDC MOF nanocomposite based on natural sepiolite (Sep) was prepared and characterized using XRD, SEM, EDS, BET, and FTIR techniques. The surface areas of the sepiolite and the Sep/Cu-BDC nanocomposite were obtained as 105.5 m(2) g(-1) and 270.5 m(2) g(-1) with average micropore volumes of 0.39 and 0.32 cm(3) g(-1), respectively. The Sep/Cu-BDC nanocomposite was prepared from the Cu-BDC metal-organic framework with values of 10, 25, and 40 by weight. The synthesized nanocomposite was tested to estimate the adsorption capacity and breakthrough time under various temperature, humidity, and concentration conditions using a designed setup. The aeroqual S500 direct-reading sensor with 0.01 ppm accuracy was used to measure the exact amount of hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S). The produced Sep/Cu-BDC nanocomposites had an extremely high adsorption capacity compared to the primary sepiolite. Among the different adsorbents, the Sep/Cu-BDC (25 wt) nanocomposite exhibited the highest adsorption capacity of 55.13 mg g(-1) (SD = 0.70) and breakthrough time of 46.32 min (SD = 1.53), respectively. Also, the amount of adsorption and breakthrough time of H2S were decreased with increasing moisture and concentration. The pressure drop was also increased slightly. The nanocomposite with 40 wt of Cu-BDC showed a significant decrease in the adsorption capacity and breakthrough time of H2S. The Sep/Cu-BDC adsorbent was regenerated using thermal regeneration at 190 degrees C in N-2 flow for 4 h, and the results showed that the adsorbent could be used for three consecutive cycles exhibiting excellent recyclability and thermal stability.