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Adsorption of aromatic trace compounds from organic solvents on activated carbons—experimental results and modeling of adsorption equilibria

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Abstract

Liquid phase adsorption is an important process for the removal of trace compounds from liquid matrices. Until today, research on liquid phase adsorption is less substantial than work on other thermal separation processes. The description of relevant mechanisms and interactions is difficult mainly because of lacking experimental data. This paper presents extensive isotherm measurements for the adsorption of organic trace compounds from organic solvents on activated carbons. A systematic variation of molecular structure of adsorptives and solvents enabled the identification of main structural factors dominating adsorption in these systems. The factors are polarity, extension and density of π electrons and sterical complexity. An analysis of the measured isotherms revealed incremental effects of functional groups and structural elements being characteristic for the adsorption capacities on activated carbons. Three consecutive empirical prediction models of adsorption equilibria are developed and compared. The empirical Freundlich equation appeared to be best suited for fitting the experimental data. The models apply an incremental concept permitting the calculation of adsorption isotherms on the basis of the structural increments of solvent and adsorptive molecules. The three models have a different extent of underlying data, a different number of parameters and a different range of application. The experimental data are predicted with satisfying accuracy for many engineering applications. The most sophisticated model has the most extensive range of application and manages on the smallest number of parameters.

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Abbreviations

c i,0 :

Initial concentration of adsorptive i [mg adsorptive/L solvent]

c i,eq :

Equilibrium concentration of adsorptive i [mg adsorptive/L solvent]

K :

Freundlich parameter [mmol adsorptive/kg adsorbent]

M i :

Molar mass of adsorptive i [g/mol]

M solv :

Molar mass of solvent [g/mol]

m i :

Weighed mass of adsorptive i [g]

n :

Freundlich parameter [–]

ρ sol :

Solution density [g/L]

q i :

Adsorbent load [mmol adsorptive/kg adsorbent]

V sol :

Solution volume [L]

x i :

Molar fraction of adsorptive i [mol/mol]

K :

Freundlich parameter [mmol adsorptive/kg adsorbent]

n :

Freundlich parameter [–]

N C,solv :

Number of carbons atoms in the solvent hydrocarbon chain [–]

N C,ads :

Number of carbons atoms in the adsorptive hydrocarbon chain [–]

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Thermische Verfahrenstechnik, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Lotharstraße 1, 47057, Duisburg, Germany

    Theo Gräf, Christoph Pasel, Michael Luckas & Dieter Bathen

Authors
  1. Theo Gräf
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  2. Christoph Pasel
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  3. Michael Luckas
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  4. Dieter Bathen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christoph Pasel.

Appendix: Tables of experimental data

Appendix: Tables of experimental data

Table 7 Data of Fig. 2. Adsorbent load for benzene, toluene, and p-xylene at c i,eq =10−4 mol i/mol methanol
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Table 8 Data of Fig. 3. Adsorption isotherms of aromatic compounds in methanol on CGF 1-3/100
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Table 9 Data of Fig. 6. Adsorption isotherms of 4-methoxyphenol in primary alcohols on CGF 1-3/100
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Table 10 Data of Fig. 7. Adsorption isotherms of 4-methoxyphenol in C5 alcohols on CGF 1-3/100
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Table 11 Data of Fig. 10. Model calculations and experimental data for adsorption of 4-methoxyphenol from organic solvents on CGF 1-3/100
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Table 12 Data of Fig. 11. Model calculations and experimental data for adsorption of 4-ethoxyphenol from organic solvents on CGF 1-3/100
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Gräf, T., Pasel, C., Luckas, M. et al. Adsorption of aromatic trace compounds from organic solvents on activated carbons—experimental results and modeling of adsorption equilibria. Adsorption 18, 127–141 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10450-012-9388-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10450-012-9388-0

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