Agricultural solid waste for the removal of organics: adsorption of phenol from water and wastewater by palm seed coat activated carbon

• Published in: Waste management (Elmsford) Vol. 22; no. 5; pp. 543 - 548
• Main Authors: Rengaraj, S., Moon, Seung-Hyeon, Sivabalan, R., Arabindoo, B., Murugesan, V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01-01-2002; New York, NY Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Activated carbon; Adsorption; Agriculture; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Applied sciences; Arecaceae; Biological and medical sciences; Carbon - chemistry; Chemistry; Diffusion; Disinfectants - chemistry; Drinking water and swimming-pool water. Desalination; Exact sciences and technology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General agronomy. Plant production; General and physical chemistry; Industrial wastewaters; Isotherm; Kinetics; Palm seed coat; Phenol; Phenol - chemistry; Pollution; Seeds; Solid-liquid interface; Surface physical chemistry; Use of agricultural and forest wastes. Biomass use, bioconversion; Waste Disposal, Fluid - methods; Wastewater; Wastewaters; Water Purification; Water treatment and pollution; Phenol; Palm seed coat; Adsorption; Activated carbon; Isotherm; Kinetics; Wastewater; Monocotyledones; Seeds; Organic adsorbate; Adsorption isotherm; Adsorption capacity; Raw materials; Envelope; Upgrading; Angiospermae; Agricultural waste; Diffusion coefficient; Rate constant; Organic compounds; Drinking water treatment; Liquid solid adsorption; Vegetal by product; Inorganic adsorbent; Vegetal waste; Regeneration; Industrial waste water; Medium effect; Preparation; Waste reuse; Solid waste; Spermatophyta; Physicochemical purification; Palmae; Waste water purification; Performance
• ISSN: 0956-053X; 1879-2456
• DOI: 10.1016/S0956-053X(01)00016-2

Adsorption studies for phenol removal from aqueous solution on activated palm seed coat carbon (PSCC) were carried out under varying experimental conditions of contact time, phenol concentration, adsorbent dose and pH. Adsorption equilibrium was reached within 3 h for phenolic concentrations 10–60 mg l
−1. Kinetics of adsorption obeyed a first order rate equation. The percent removal remained constant over the pH range 4–9 for a phenolic concentration of 25 mg l
−1. The equilibrium data could be described well by the Freundlich isotherm equation. The adsorption of phenol on PSCC follows the film diffusion process. A comparative study with a commercial activated carbon showed that PSCC is two times more effective than commercial activated carbon. The studies showed that the palm seed coat carbon can be used as an efficient adsorbent material for the removal of phenolics from water and wastewater.