Evaluation of LTA-, FAU- and MFI-type zeolites as sorbents of some toxic components of tobacco smoke

Zeolites 3A, 4A, 13X, H-ZSM-5 were investigated in order to evaluate their possible use ill removing toxic compounds from cigarette smoke. Ammonia and acetaldehyde were selected as representative of a wide range of possible sorbates. Adsorption equilibrium data at 313K were collected and analyzed by Langmuir and virial equations to estimate the relevant values of Henry's constant, a useful paxameter to estimate the affinity sorbents-sorbates at; low pressures. Unlike the Langmuir model, the virial equation provided a good fit for both ammonia and acetaldehyde equilibrium data for all sorbents in the whole range of pressures, especially at low pressure. As already assessed for nitrosamines, FAU- and MFI-type zeolites showed the highest affinity for ammonia and acetaldehyde, allowing these sorbents to be considered an effective potential resource for the removal of some of the main pollutants of tobacco smoke.