Kinetics and isotherm studies for the adsorption of phenol using low cost micro porous ZnCl2 activated coir pith carbonA paper submitted to the Journal of Environmental Engineering and Science.

Abstract

In the present study, the potential of ZnCl2 activated coir pith carbon for adsorption of phenol from aqueous solution was investigated. Batch kinetics and isotherm studies were carried out to evaluate the effects of contact time, initial concentration, adsorbent dose, pH, and temperature. Adsorption kinetics was tested for first order, second order, and Bangham’s model and rate constants of kinetic models were evaluated. Equilibrium isotherms for the adsorption of phenol were analysed by Langmuir, Freundlich, Dubinin-Radushkevich, and Temkin isotherm models. The Langmuir adsorption capacity, Q0, was found to be 92.58 mg g–1 of the adsorbent. pH effect showed that physical adsorption might be involved in the adsorption process. Thermodynamic studies revealed that the adsorption of phenol by activated carbon was an endothermic process. The negative value of ΔG0 indicated the spontaneity of the adsorption process. Removal of phenol from synthetic wastewater was also tested. This study showed that ZnCl2 activated coir pith carbon could be used as an efficient adsorbent material for the removal of phenol from water.