Adsorption of Phenol on Commercial Activated Carbons: Modelling and Interpretation

Bingxin Xie, Jihong Qin, Shu Wang, Xin Li, Hui Sun and Wenqing Chen
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Bingxin Xie: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
Jihong Qin: Department of Environmental Engineering, Chengdu University, Chengdu 610106, China
Shu Wang: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
Xin Li: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
Hui Sun: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
Wenqing Chen: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 3, 1-13

Abstract: Adsorption by activated carbons (AC) is an effective option for phenolic wastewater treatment. Three commercial AC, including coal-derived granular activated carbons (GAC 950 ), coal-derived powdered activated carbons (PAC 800 ), and coconut shell-derived powdered activated carbons (PAC 1000 ), were utilized as adsorbent to study its viability and efficiency for phenol removal from wastewater. Pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, and the Weber–Morris kinetic models were used to find out the kinetic parameters and mechanism of adsorption process. Further, to describe the equilibrium isotherms, the experimental data were analyzed by the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. According to the experimental results, AC presented a micro/mesoporous structure, and the removal of phenol by AC was affected by initial phenol concentration, contact time, pH, temperature, and humic acid (HA) concentration. The pseudo-second order kinetic and Langmuir models were found to fit the experimental data very well, and the maximum adsorption capacity was 169.91, 176.58, and 212.96 mg/g for GAC 950 , PAC 800 , and PAC 1000 , respectively, which was attributed to differences in their precursors and physical appearance. Finally, it was hard for phenol to be desorbed in a natural environment, which confirmed that commercial AC are effective adsorbents for phenol removal from effluent wastewater.

Keywords: activated carbons; adsorbent; phenol; adsorption (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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