Identification of impregnated activated carbon used as adsorbent in protective equipment for chemical warfare agent

Abstract

It is known that X-rays spectroscopy has been developed to apply to many advantages. In this work, Scanning electron microscope coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (SEM-EDS) and synchrotron radiation facilities, such as micro-beam X-ray fluorescent spectroscopy (O-XRF) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) have been carried out to study on impregnated activated carbon samples that have been used as a chemical warfare agent adsorbent in military protective equipment. The elemental composition and distribution of sample surface have been analyzed. Their microstructures were highly porous. The results showed a detection of many kinds of metals, especially chromium (Cr), iron (Fe) and copper (Cu) with different from elemental distribution. It was also detected Cr(VI) which was a carcinogen in some samples. It is proposed that these methods can be used as fingerprint to identify various types of adsorbent.