Seminar
Seminar given by Miljan Radošević (Department of Inorganic Chemistry and Technology, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia), titled "Removal of volatile organic compounds - chlorinated pollutants, from indoor environment by nanoporous materials".
Abstract
Treatment of volatile organic compounds – specifically- chlorinated pollutants (Cl-VOCs) - in
indoor environments, has been the subject of research for the past three decades, due to the fact that
humans tend to spend the majority of their time indoors and these compounds are among the most toxic
pollutants present. Such pollutants can originate from different sources, including disinfection,
industrial and disposal processes, or household products. Techniques for treating these pollutants are
classified as physical, chemical and biological methods; this review focuses on physical and chemical
methods. Two distinct approaches exist regarding technologies for Cl-VOCs treatment: traditional
methods based on zeolites and novel methods based on metal organic frameworks (MOFs). The zeolite-
based method, which has been the standard for the past four decades, is currently studied mainly in
terms of optimization, such as enhancing adsorption capacities. MOFs, on the other hand, show great
potential due to their excellent performance. These materials are still under development, with limited
literature available on this topic, indicating substantial opportunities for future research. The aim of this
review seminar is to provide insight into current research trends and to identify discrepancies in recent
findings concerning the Cl-VOCs treatment in indoor environments using both zeolite-based and novel
MOF -based approaches.