REMOVAL OF PHENOL FROM WASTEWATER USING LOWCOST ADSORBENTS DEVELOPED FROM RICE HUSK

• Main Author: DAFFALLA, SAMAH BABIKER
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: TP Chemical technology
• Online Access: http://utpedia.utp.edu.my/id/eprint/22471/1/2013%20-CHEMICAL%20-%20REMOVAL%20OF%20PHENOL%20FROM%20WASTE%20WATER%20USING%20LOW-COST%20ADSORBENTS%20DEVELOPED%20FROM%20RICE%20HUSK%20-%20SAMAH%20BABIKER%20DAFFALLA.pdf; http://utpedia.utp.edu.my/id/eprint/22471/

Organic contaminants from industrial waste streams have been recognised as an issue of growing concern as they severely affect human health and the environment. In this research, the development of twenty six (26) low-cost adsorbent materials from abundant waste rice husk was achieved via chemical treatment, thermal treatment and activated rice husk (activated carbon). The physiochemical properties of the developed adsorbent were evaluated. Their adsorption behaviours in batch system were evaluated for the removal of phenol from aqueous solutions by varying the initial concentration, pH, required dose, contact time and temperature. Subsequently, the adsorption behaviour of the best adsorbent in fixed bed column was further evaluated for phenol, binary system of phenol with benzene and toluene as well as ternary system of phenol, benzene and toluene. Analysis showed that the developed adsorbents possessed different physiochemical properties due to the methods of treatment. It was found that, the surface morphology of rice husk was progressively changed after treatment. It was also found that, the activated carbons have the highest surface areas ranged from (117.78 to 586.6 m2 g-1 ) followed by thermally (24.04 to 201.4 m2 g' 1 ) and chemically (2.78 to 50.17 m2.g-1 ) treated samples, respectively. Experimental results in batch system show that adsorption capacity was found to increase with increase in initial concentration, adsorbent dose and agitation time. The maximum uptake of phenol was found at pH 4. Due to high surface areas and porosity, at 100 mg.L-1 of synthetic wastewater containing phenol, the activated adsorbents had shown the highest removal efficiencies ranged from (86.7 to 98.5 %) followed by thermally (26.9 to 64.9 %) and chemically (22.5 to 48.6 %) treated adsorbents, respectively. Further evaluation of the best activated adsorbent, D6oo.u, in fixed bed column showed that the adsorption capacity increased with the increase in the initial concentration and the bed depth. However, it decreased with the increase in the feed flow rate.