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Alternative activated/KOH adsorbent for phenol adsorption: experimental, industrial case study and mass transfer interpretation

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Abstract

Removal of phenol from wastewater is essential to achieve permitted concentrations according to the recommendations of USEPA. The adsorption capacity of phenol in activated adsorbent with KOH of Enterolobium contortisiliquum (TAC) was evaluated at different temperatures. The Langmuir isotherm represented the equilibrium data of this study. Thermodynamic process was endothermic, spontaneous, and reversible. The mass transfer parameters ranged from KE 0.68 to 0.96 × 10−3 (cm s−1), Ds 8.95 to 14.35 × 10−9 (cm2 s−1), and Dp 5.023 × 10−8 (cm2 s−1). The PVSDM model represented the adsorption kinetics. Intraparticle diffusion limits the mass transfer process Biot > 100. The two-stage process minimized the total amount of TAC required to achieve the permitted specification of phenol concentration in wastewater from different industrial sectors. TAC showed significant performance in the removal of phenol from wastewater.

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Data availability

The experimental dataset of this study can be made available upon request and approval of the corresponding author.

Abbreviations

ARE:

Absolute relative deviation (%)

\({\mathrm{B}}_{1}\) :

Temkin model constant (mg g−1)

Biot:

Biot number (dimensionless)

\({\mathrm{CA}}_{\mathrm{j}}^{\mathrm{exp}}\) :

Value obtained experimentally (mg L−1)

\({\mathrm{CA}}_{\mathrm{j}}^{\mathrm{mod}}\) :

Value predicted by the diffusional model (mg L−1)

\({\mathrm{C}}_{\mathrm{A}}^{\mathrm{o}}\) :

Standard concentration of phenol (1.0 mol L−1)

C(t) :

Amount of phenol in the solution at time t (mg L−1)

CA :

Amount of adsorbate in solution at time t (mg L−1)

CA0 :

Initial amount of adsorbate in the fluid phase (mg L−1)

CAr :

Amount of adsorbate inside the particle at position r (mg L−1)

Ce :

Amount of phenol in the solution at equilibrium (mg L−1)

Co:

Initial amount of adsorbate in the fluid phase (mg L−1)

C1:

Amount of adsorbate at equilibrium in stage 1 (mg L−1)

C2:

Amount of adsorbate at equilibrium in stage 2 (mg L−1)

D AB :

Molecular diffusivity of phenol in water (cm2 s−1)

d p :

Pore diameter (nm)

Dp :

Effective pore diffusion coefficient (cm2 s−1)

Ds :

Surface diffusivity (cm2 s−1)

\({k}_{1}\) :

Temkin model constant (L mg−1)

K E :

External convective mass transfer coefficient (cm s−1)

K F :

Freundlich model constant ((mg g−1) (L mg−1)1/m)

K L :

Langmuir constant (L mg−1)

\({K}_{\mathrm{e}}^{\mathrm{o}}\) :

Thermodynamic equilibrium constant (dimensionless)

K g :

Parameter of the best isotherm model (L mg−1)

m :

Freundlich model parameter (dimensionless)

M A :

Phenol molar mass (g mol−1)

P :

Number of experimental points

q(t) :

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

\({\overline{q} }^{\mathrm{ exp}}\) :

Average value obtained experimentally (mg g−1)

\({q}_{\mathrm{e}}\) :

Amount of phenol adsorbed at equilibrium (mg g−1)

\({q}_{\mathrm{j}}^{\mathrm{exp}}\) :

Value obtained experimentally at point j (mg g−1)

\({q}_{\mathrm{j}}^{\mathrm{mod}}\) :

Value predicted by the model at point j (mg g−1)

q max :

Maximum amount of phenol adsorbed Langmuir isotherm (mg g−1)

R :

Universal gas constant (8.314 J mol−1 K−1)

R 2 :

Determination coefficient

R 2 adj :

Adjusted determination coefficient

S BET Specific area BET (m2 :

G−1)

S EXTExternal surface area (cm2 :

G−1)

t :

Time (s)

T :

Temperature (K)

V :

Solution volume (L)

V pTotal pore volume (cm3 :

G−1)

W :

Amount of adsorbent (g)

W i :

Amount of adsorbent in stage i (g)

W t :

Total amount of adsorbent (g)

Z :

Number of parameters for each model to be adjusted

\(\upgamma\) :

Activity coefficient (dimensionless)

εp :

Porosity (dimensionless)

ρp :

Apparent specific mass (g cm−3)

ρs :

Real specific mass (g cm−3)

∆H°:

Standard enthalpy variation (kJ mol−1)

∆G°:

Standard Gibbs free energy variation (kJ mol−1)

∆S°:

Standard entropy variation (kJ mol−1 K−1)

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Acknowledgements

The authors of this paper thank the Coordination for Improvement of Higher Education (CAPES) for the granting of the scholarship of the second author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemical Engineering, Polytechnic School, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul—PUCRS, Av. Ipiranga 6681, Porto Alegre, RS, 90619-900, Brazil

    Jarrie P. Lima

  2. School of Chemistry and Food, Postgraduate Programme in Technological and Environmental Chemistry PPGQTA, Federal University of Rio Grande—FURG, Barão do Cahy 125, Santo Antônio da Patrulha, RS, 95500-000, Brazil

    Glademir Alvarenga & Gilber R. Rosa

  3. School of Chemistry and Food, Postgraduate Programme in Chemical Engineering PPGEQ, Federal University of Rio Grande—FURG, Av. Italia 8 km, Rio Grande, RS, 96203-900, Brazil

    Toni J. Lopes

Authors
  1. Jarrie P. Lima
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  2. Glademir Alvarenga
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  3. Gilber R. Rosa
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  4. Toni J. Lopes
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Contributions

JPL: conceptualization, methodology, visualization, formal analysis, validation, investigation, writing—review and editing. GA: conceptualization, methodology, writing—review and editing. GRR: conceptualization, writing—review and editing, project administration, supervision. TJL: conceptualization, writing—review and editing, project administration, supervision.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jarrie P. Lima.

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Responsible Editor: Tito Roberto Cadaval Jr

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Lima, J.P., Alvarenga, G., Rosa, G.R. et al. Alternative activated/KOH adsorbent for phenol adsorption: experimental, industrial case study and mass transfer interpretation. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 77698–77710 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21313-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21313-8

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