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Equilibrium, kinetics and thermodynamics study of phenols adsorption onto activated carbon obtained from lignocellulosic material (Eucalyptus Globulus labill seed)

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Abstract

Activated carbon was prepared from lignocellulosic material (Eucalyptus Globulus labill seed) by chemical activation with ZnCl2 at two different concentrations (10 and 25 % m/v) named ACS25 and ACS10. The textural characteristics of the activated carbons (ACs) were determined by N2 adsorption isotherms; these exhibit B.E.T. surface areas of 250 and 300 m2 g−1 for ACS25 and ACS10, respectively, with micropore volume contents of 0.140 and 0.125 cm3 g−1 in the same order. In addition, the FTIR and Boehm methods were conducted for the chemical characterisation of ACs, where many groups with basic character were found, which favours the adsorption of phenols. The prepared carbonaceous adsorbents were used in the adsorption of wide pollutants monosubstituted phenol derivatives: phenol, 4-nitrophenol and 4-chlorophenol. The effect of temperature on the thermodynamics, kinetic and equilibrium of phenols adsorption on ACs was thoroughly examined. The adsorption kinetics adjusted properly for a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. However, the Elovich model (chemisorption) confirms that phenols adsorption did not occur via the sharing of electrons between the phenolic ring and basal plane of ACs because is not properly adjusted, so the process is given by physisorption. The thermodynamic parameters [i.e. Gibbs free energy change (ΔG°), enthalpy change (ΔH°) and entropy change (ΔS°)] were also evaluated. The overall adsorption process was exothermic and spontaneous in nature. The values found in the thermodynamic study, confirm that the adsorption process corresponds to a clearly physical process.

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Abbreviations

\(Q_{t}\) :

Amount of adsorbate adsorbed at time t (mg g−1)

\(K_{f}\) :

The pseudo-first-order rate constant (h−1),

t :

Time

\(K_{s}\) :

The pseudo-first-order rate constant (g gm−1 min−1)

\(\alpha\) :

Desorption constant in Elovich Equation

\(\beta\) :

Initial adsorption rate in Elovich Equation

\(k_{id}\) :

The intraparticle diffusion rate constant (mg g−1 h−1/2)

\(I\) :

Thickness of the boundary layer in intraparticle model of Weber and Morris

\(k\) :

Rate constant of adsorption of Dumwald–Warner model (min−1)

\(F\) :

Fractional attainment of equilibrium in the Dumwald-Warner model

\(k_{fd}\) :

Film diffusion rate coefficient in the Dumwald–Wagner mode

\(Q_{\hbox{max} }\) :

Maximum phenol uptake in Langmuir model

\(k_{L}\) :

Constant in Langmuir model that denoted the energy of adsorption and affinity of the binding sites (L mg−1)

\(k_{f}\) :

Constant in Freundlich model giving an indication of adsorption capacity [mg g−1 (L mg−1) n]

\(n\) :

Constant in Freundlich model giving an indication of adsorption intensity

\(Q_{mDRK}\) :

Amount adsorbed of solute on the monolayer in Dubinin–Radusckevisch–Kanager model

\(C_{s}\) :

Concentrations of equilibrium saturation in Dubinin–Radusckevisch–Kanager model

\(E_{S}\) :

Is related to the energy characteristic of the process in Dubinin–Radusckevisch–Kanager model

\(\varDelta G^{0}\) :

Gibbs free energy change of adsorption process

\(R\) :

R is the gas constant (8.314 J mol−1 K−1)

\(K_{o}\) :

K 0 is the apparent equilibrium constant, in this study the Langmuir constant was used

\(\varDelta S^{0}\) :

Entropy change of adsorption process

\(\varDelta H^{0}\) :

Enthalpy change of adsorption process

\(T\) :

Temperature in Kelvin

\(A\) :

Arrhenius factor

\(E_{a}\) :

Arrhenius activation energy of adsorption

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the Master Agreement established between the ‘Universidad de los Andes’ and the ‘Universidad Nacional de Colombia’ and the Memorandum of Understanding entered into by the Departments of Chemistry of both Universities. Additionally, the authors are also thankful for financial support to the Additionally, the authors are also thankful for financial support to the convocation ‘Proyecto Semilla’ of the faculty of sciences of Universidad de los Andes in the category Master Student 2015.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Química, Facultad de Ciencias, Grupo de Investigación de Sólidos Porosos y Calorimetría, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia

    Nelson Giovanny Rincón-Silva & Juan C. Moreno-Piraján

  2. Departamento de Química, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia

    Liliana Giraldo

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  1. Nelson Giovanny Rincón-Silva
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Rincón-Silva, N.G., Moreno-Piraján, J.C. & Giraldo, L. Equilibrium, kinetics and thermodynamics study of phenols adsorption onto activated carbon obtained from lignocellulosic material (Eucalyptus Globulus labill seed). Adsorption 22, 33–48 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10450-015-9724-2

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