Phenol Removal From Synthetic Wastewater by Adsorption Column

Abstract

Abstract Adsorption column is used to perform the adsorption experiments of this work using continuous scheme. The operating parameters investigated in this work are; inlet pollutant concentration (10, 30, & 50 mg/L), Liquid hourly space velocity (5, 10, & 15 h−1), and thickness of activated carbon layer (5, 15, & 25 cm). The aim of this work is to investigate the possibility of removing high phenol concentration from a synthetic wastewater since the nearby North Refineries Company, Baiji, (Iraq) wastewater treatment plant receives high phenol concentration. Moreover, to investigate the effects of various operating parameters on the adsorption capacity, breakthrough, and exhaustion times. The results of this work show that activated carbon can remove high concentration of phenol (up to 50 mg/L) efficiently. The results also indicated that the adsorption capacity depends on inlet pollutant concentration, activated carbon thickness, and liquid hourly space velocity. Actual adsorption capacity is calculated and found to be different from adsorption capacity found depending on the adsorption models. The lowest and highest adsorption capacities are 0.428 and 9.02 mg/g respectively, while the corresponding values for actual adsorption capacities are 0.216 and 32.4 mg/g.