White carbon black, also known as silicon dioxide (SiO ₂), is a nano material with porous and high specific surface area properties. With the advantages of strong adsorption, good chemical stability, and surface modifiability brought by high specific surface area, white carbon black has shown great potential for application in environmental governance and is expected to become an emerging force in this field.
1、 Mechanism of Action and Technological Highlights
（1） Excellent adsorption performance
Gas phase white carbon black has a remarkable specific surface area, reaching 100-400m ²/g, which provides it with a massive number of active sites. Its unique porous structure allows for flexible adjustment of pore size distribution, enabling precise adaptation to the adsorption requirements of pollutants of different molecular sizes. In terms of adsorption capacity, white carbon black has outstanding adsorption ability for heavy metal ions, reaching 50-150mg/g, which is more advantageous compared to traditional activated carbon.
（2） Efficient catalytic performance
White carbon black can serve as an ideal catalyst carrier, capable of supporting metal oxides such as titanium dioxide (TiO ₂), vanadium pentoxide (V ₂ O ₅), etc., significantly enhancing catalytic activity. At the same time, surface modification operations such as hydrophobic treatment can effectively improve the adsorption selectivity for organic pollutants.
（3） Flexible reaction conditions
In water treatment scenarios, white carbon black can achieve optimal performance within the pH range of 6-8, and the adsorption process can usually proceed smoothly at room temperature and pressure, making it easy to operate. In terms of air purification, its working temperature range is wide, from -20 ℃ to 400 ℃, which can meet the needs of different exhaust gas treatment scenarios.
2、 Diversified application areas
（1） Air pollution control
Coal fired power plant exhaust gas treatment: White carbon black can effectively remove harmful gases such as sulfur dioxide (SO ₂) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) from coal-fired power plant exhaust gas, helping power plants achieve green emissions.
Industrial waste gas treatment: In industries such as chemical and metallurgical, white carbon black can be used for waste gas purification, efficiently removing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter, and improving the industrial production environment.
Traffic exhaust treatment: As a catalyst carrier, white carbon black can promote the conversion of carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), and nitrogen oxides (NOx) in automobile exhaust, reducing the pollution of exhaust to the atmosphere.
Air purification: Air filters made of white carbon black can effectively remove fine particulate matter such as PM2.5 from the air, providing people with fresher air.
（2） Water pollution control
Heavy metal removal: White carbon black has efficient adsorption capacity for heavy metal ions such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg), which can effectively reduce the content of heavy metals in water.
Organic degradation: It can adsorb and remove organic solvents, oil substances, pesticide residues, and other organic matter from water, improving water quality.
Wastewater treatment: As a catalyst carrier, white carbon black can promote the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants, achieving deep purification of wastewater.
（3） Solid waste treatment
Soil remediation: White carbon black can adsorb heavy metal pollutants in soil, reduce their bioavailability, and help to remediate contaminated soil and restore soil ecological functions.
Waste gas resource utilization: The use of white carbon black can convert organic matter in waste gas into fuel or chemical raw materials, realizing the resource utilization of waste and turning waste into treasure.
3、 Research progress and future trends
（1） Material modification direction
Surface functionalization: By chemical modification methods, the selective adsorption capacity of white carbon black for specific pollutants is enhanced, improving its precision in pollution control.
Composite structure design: Combining white carbon black with other materials to enhance its adsorption capacity and regeneration performance, extend the material's service life, and reduce usage costs.
（2） Emerging application areas
Carbon dioxide capture: Actively exploring the application of white carbon black in carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to provide new solutions for addressing global climate change.
Photocatalytic degradation: As a photocatalyst carrier, white carbon black can be used for deep treatment of pollutants, further improving the effectiveness of environmental governance.
（3） Key points of process optimization
Preparation method: improve the preparation process of sol gel method, gas phase method, etc., improve the yield and quality of silica, reduce the use cost of products, and promote its large-scale application.
Regeneration technology: Develop efficient regeneration processes that enable white carbon black to be recycled multiple times, extend the material's lifespan, and reduce resource waste.
4、 Challenges and Future Prospects
Although white carbon black has achieved significant results in the field of environmental governance, it still faces some challenges at present. The price of gas-phase white carbon black products is relatively high, ranging from 50000 to 80000 yuan per ton, which to some extent limits their large-scale application. In addition, some preparation processes are complex and consume high energy, requiring further optimization. At the same time, there is currently a lack of unified application effect evaluation standards, which is not conducive to the standardized development of white carbon black in the environmental governance market.
In the future, research should focus on developing low-cost preparation processes, improving the recycling performance of materials, perfecting corresponding application standards, and expanding their applications in the treatment of new pollutants. With the deep integration of nanotechnology and environmental science, white carbon black is expected to play a greater role in the field of environmental governance, opening up a new market track and making greater contributions to environmental protection.