Acidic adjustment treatment of diatomite and its application in a novel powder-water mist synergistic decontamination system for ammonia

NH3·H2O can result in severe accidents when leaking in a confined space. In this work, a novel powder-water mist synergistic strategy for decontaminating NH3·H2O in a confined space is proposed. Initially, FeCl3/AlCl3 was employed to modify diatomite, decorating its pore structure and augmenting the number of acidic adsorption sites. The modified diatomite achieves a notable efficiency of 74.6%, surpassing that of the raw diatomite (43.8%). Subsequently, surfactants were introduced to increase the contact area between the water mist and NH3, while a thickening agent was employed to suppress the fluidity of NH3·H2O. Ultimately, the powder-water mist synergistic decontamination system was constructed by integrating the diatomite with a thickening agent and water mist containing surfactants. The synergistic system exhibits a superior decontamination efficiency of approximately 80%. This work generates fresh insight into decontaminating NH3·H2O in a confined space and offers a crucial avenue for future advancements in decontamination technology. [Display omitted] •A novel powder-water mist synergistic decontamination method is presented.•Modified treatments enhance the decontamination efficiency of diatomite on NH3·H2O.•This synergistic method exhibits satisfactory decontamination effects on NH3·H2O.