Adsorption of VOCs by molecular sieves in shipboard operations： water competition effect and pore size matching mechanism

SHOU Youping; QIAO Jianzhe; ZHAO junjie; YI Zhongxian; WANG Jian

doi:10.13205/j.hjgc.202608028

Volume 44 Issue 8

Aug. 2026

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Article Navigation > ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING > 2026 > 44(8): 290-298

SHOU Youping, QIAO Jianzhe, ZHAO junjie, YI Zhongxian, WANG Jian. Adsorption of VOCs by molecular sieves in shipboard operations： water competition effect and pore size matching mechanism[J]. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING , 2026, 44(8): 290-298. doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202608028

Citation:

SHOU Youping, QIAO Jianzhe, ZHAO junjie, YI Zhongxian, WANG Jian. Adsorption of VOCs by molecular sieves in shipboard operations： water competition effect and pore size matching mechanism[J]. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING , 2026, 44(8): 290-298. doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202608028

Citation:

SHOU Youping, QIAO Jianzhe, ZHAO junjie, YI Zhongxian, WANG Jian. Adsorption of VOCs by molecular sieves in shipboard operations： water competition effect and pore size matching mechanism[J]. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING , 2026, 44(8): 290-298. doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202608028

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Adsorption of VOCs by molecular sieves in shipboard operations： water competition effect and pore size matching mechanism

doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202608028

1. Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection in Water Transport Engineering, Tianjin Research Institute of Water Transport Engineering, Ministry of Communications, Tianjin 300456, China;
2. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China

Received Date: 2025-10-13

Abstract

Abstract

The multi-component volatile organic compounds （VOCs） waste gas generated during ship loading operations have a complex composition， typically including methanol， dichloromethane， trichloroethylene， p-xylene， acrylonitrile， benzene， acetonitrile， and other organic compounds， which are difficult to treat under the high-humidity conditions of marine environments. In this study， the above seven typical VOCs were selected as representatives. Three types of molecular sieves with different pore sizes， namely ZSM-5， β-type， and HY， were systematically screened， and their selective adsorption performance for various components was investigated under varying moisture content conditions （0%， 2.5%， and 5%）. The competitive adsorption behavior of an acrylonitrile and p-xylene mixed system on ZSM-5-all-silica and HY-100 molecular sieves was particularly examined. The experimental results showed that： 1） the saturated adsorption capacity of the molecular sieves decreased with increasing moisture content， indicating an obvious competitive adsorption effect between water molecules and VOCs； 2） the selective adsorption of the molecular sieves followed the pore size matching principle： ZSM-5 （pore size： 0.54 to 0.56 nm） was suitable for the adsorption of small C1 to C3 molecules such as dichloromethane， trichloroethylene， acetonitrile， and acrylonitrile （adsorption capacity： 10 to 50 mg/g）； β-type molecular sieves （pore size： 1.1 to 1.2 nm） exhibited the best universality for C3 to C6 molecules； and HY molecular sieves （pore size： 2.16 to 2.76 nm） were more suitable for the adsorption of large C8 molecules such as p-xylene （adsorption capacity： 100 to 120 mg/g）； 3） in multi-component VOCs systems， by optimizing the proportion and arrangement of molecular sieves， the adsorption capacity for different components could be balanced， significantly prolonging the breakthrough time of mixed VOCs and improving the utilization efficiency of the molecular sieves. This study holds theoretical significance and practical value for promoting the engineering application of molecular sieve technology in the treatment of waste gas from ship loading operations and port collection， distribution， and transportation processes， enhancing the treatment efficiency of multi-component VOCs， and reducing emissions of waste gas generated during the transfer of liquid bulk cargo at ports.
- waste gas from ship loading operations,
- molecular sieves,
- multi-component VOCs,
- competitive adsorption,
- moisture content

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References(16)

References

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