Characterization and Adsorption Isotherm Measurement of Phenol On Activated Carbon

• Main Author: Che Din, Nazatul Sheema
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Universiti Teknologi Petronas 2004
• Subjects: TP Chemical technology
• Online Access: http://utpedia.utp.edu.my/7910/1/2004%20Bachelor%20-%20Characterization%20%20And%20Adsorption%20Isotherm%20Of%20Phenol%20On%20Activated%20Carbon.pdf; http://utpedia.utp.edu.my/7910/

The research on adsorption isotherm measurement of phenol on activated carbon has been conducted prior to the increase in demand by the industry regarding the suitable method of removing this organic compound. Phenol is one of the components in industrial wastewaters which can bring detrimental effect to human life. Due to the increase in industrial wastewaters, the demand for removal of organic compounds including phenol has been increased. There are various separation method recognized such as coagulation, filtration, oxidation, aeration, ion exchange and activated carbon treatment. However, the latter method has been proven to be more efficient in removing these compounds, thus is adopted in this study. The objectives ofthis research are to determine the adsorption isotherm measurement of phenol on various types of activated carbon at wide range of temperatures, to determine the most suitable adsorbent for this type of application and to characterize the physical properties of the adsorbents used in terms of their surface area, average pore diameter and microporous distribution. There are four types of activated carbons that have been selected which are 2.5 and 1.5 mm diameter of Granular Activated Carbon and GR and Powder Extra Pure of Powdered Activated Carbon. The scope of study is limited to three different temperatures. The surface area, average pore diameter and microporous distribution are analyzed using the QUANTACHROME AUTOSORBanalyzer whereas the amount ofphenol removed by the activated carbons is determined from the adsorption isotherm measurement which shows that the amount of phenol adsorbed varies with the equilibrium phenol concentration. The analysis of concentration of phenol is done using UV-VIS Spectrophotometer. From the result of adsorption isotherm measurement, 2.5 mm diameter of Granular Activated Carbon is the best option in removing phenol and the adsorption is proven to be favored at lower temperature. Since the diameter of phenol is less than the diameter of micropores, the adsorption capacity of phenol is very much affected by the volume of microporous structure. This finding is supported by the results onthe characterization of adsorbents which shows that 2.5 mm diameter Granular Activated Carbon has the highest micropore volume and area. Thus, it can be concluded that removal of adsorbate which has diameter less than the diameter of micropore increases with the increase in volume of micropores and is favored at lower possible temperature.