The synthetic leather industry emits organic waste gases predominantly composed of N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), with trace amounts of toluene, butanone, and ethyl acetate as secondarycomponents. Conventional treatment methods rely on water absorption processes, which generateaqueous absorbent solutions enriched with DMF. This study systematically investigates the absorptionEnergy Environmental Protectionefficiency of hydrophobic toluene in DMF aqueous solutions using a spray-packed column, focusing onthe characteristics of exhaust gas components. Through molecular interaction analysis (DMF-toluene-water ternary system) and experimental validation, we demonstrate that DMF addition significantlyenhances intermolecular interactions between toluene and the absorbent matrix. Analysis based ondensity gradient theory (DGT) reveals that only weak interactions exist between toluene and watermolecules or between toluene and DMF molecules, whereas strong hydrogen bonding is presentbetween DMF and water molecules. Therefore, the addition of DMF to an aqueous solution enhancesthe intermolecular interactions between toluene and the absorbent, enabling efficient absorption andresource recovery of toluene. Experimental results indicate that DMF enhances the interaction forcebetween toluene and the absorbent. In dynamic absorption experiments, the absorption efficiencies of40% DMF absorbent and deionized water were 32.0% and 12.7%, respectively, representing a 2.5-foldincrease in absorption efficiency. Residence time and liquid-to-gas ratio significantly influenced thetoluene absorption efficiency of the DMF aqueous solution. Increasing the residence time from 10 s to25 s improved the absorption efficiency from 10.0% to 24.0% over a 30-minute operational period.Additionally, the system achieved peak absorption performance at a liquid-to-gas ratio of 15 L/m, witha maximum efficiency of 24.3%. The saturated absorption capacity of toluene in the 30% DMF aqueoussolution was 14 mg/L. The quasi-Henry′s law constant of toluene in the 30% DMF aqueous solutionwas significantly lower than that in water, further confirming the enhancement effect of DMF ontoluene absorption. Heating distillation at 50 ℃ efficiently recovered toluene from the DMF absorbentsolution, and the regenerated absorbent retained nearly the same initial toluene absorption capacity. At adesorption temperature of 50 ℃, the desorption efficiency of toluene reached 91.2%. Remarkably, theabsorption saturation capacity of the DMF aqueous solution for toluene remained stable withoutsignificant degradation even after 8 consecutive adsorption-desorption cycles. These findingssystematically demonstrate the feasibility of utilizing DMF aqueous solutions for the effectiveabsorption of low-concentration toluene emissions, supported by comprehensive theoretical analysisand extensive experimental investigations. Moreover, they highlight the significant potential of thisapproach for practical applications in treating low-water-solubility volatile organic compounds (VOCs).