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Removal of Dissolved Organic Carbon from Oily Produced Water by Adsorption onto Date Seeds: Equilibrium, Kinetic, and Thermodynamic Studies

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Abstract

The feasibility of date seeds as a new low-cost natural adsorbent for the removal of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from oily produced water was investigated. The aim of this study was to elucidate the mechanism associated with the removal of DOC and to find the best equilibrium isotherms and kinetic models for DOC removal in batch adsorption experiments. The effect of various physicochemical parameters such as initial DOC concentration (18.5–93.5 mg/L), solution pH (4–9), temperature (25–45 °C), and date seeds dosages (0.5–2.0 g) was evaluated. The equilibrium stage was attained after a contact time of 120 min. The maximum DOC removal was 82 % for 93.5 mg/L of DOC concentration. The equilibrium data were well represented by the Langmuir isotherm. The maximum monolayer adsorption capacity of date seeds was found to be 74.62 mg/g. The separation factor, R L, from the Langmuir equation and the Freundlich constant, n, indicated a favorable adsorption. The kinetic studies indicated that the adsorption process follows the pseudo-second-order kinetics. The adsorption of DOC is governed by both surface and pore diffusion. The results revealed that the DOC uptake decreases when temperature and pH increases. The adsorption process has been found exothermic in nature, and the thermodynamic parameters were determined. The Langmuir isotherm model equation was adopted to design a single-stage batch absorber for DOC adsorption onto date seeds. The study demonstrated that date seeds can be considered as a promising low-cost adsorbent for the removal of DOC from oily produced water.

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Abbreviations

C e :

Residue DOC concentration at equilibrium (mg/L)

ΔG o :

Gibbs free energy (KJ/mol)

C o :

Initial concentration of DOC (mg/L)

ΔH o :

Change in enthalpy (KJ/mol)

C l :

Final concentration of DOC (mg/L)

ΔS o :

Change in entropy (J/mol K)

q t :

Adsorption capacity at time t (mg/g)

R 2 :

Linear regression coefficient

q e :

Amount of DOC adsorbed at equilibrium (mg/g)

t :

Time (min)

q m :

Maximum adsorption capacity (mg/g)

ρ s :

Particle density of date seed (g/cm3)

t 0.5 :

The half-life time (min0.5)

ρ w :

Density of water (g/cm3)

k id :

Intra-particle diffusion rate constant (mg/g min0.5)

m o :

Mass of oven-dried date seed (g)

k fd :

The film diffusion rate constant

m sw :

Mass air-dried seed + pycnometer + water (g)

K d :

Distribution coefficient

m w :

Mass of water + pycnometer (g)

R L :

Separation factor

ΔS o :

Change in entropy (J/mol K)

K L :

The Langmuir constant (L/mg)

R 2 :

Linear regression coefficient

K f :

Freundlich constant related to adsorption capacity (mg/g)

k 1 :

Pseudo-first-order rate constant (L/min)

k 2 :

Pseudo-second-order rate constant (g/mg min)

n :

Empirical parameter related to the intensity of adsorption

β :

Constant related to adsorption energy

ε:

Polanyi potential (KJ2/mol2)

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Acknowledgements

The lead author acknowledges the Office of Research & Development at Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia for providing Curtin International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (CIPRS). The lead author also acknowledges the funding support provided by Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) towards research infrastructure as well as the produced water samples from oilfields. Experimental support provided by Sultan Qaboos University is also acknowledged. Useful comments from anonymous reviewers and the editor are also acknowledged which led to improvements in the original version of the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia

    Mansour Al.Haddabi, Hari Vuthaluru & Hussein Znad

  2. Department of Soils, Water and Agricultural Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, PO Box 34, A1-hod, Muscat, 123, Sultanate of Oman

    Mansour Al.Haddabi & Mushtaque Ahmed

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  1. Mansour Al.Haddabi
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Correspondence to Mansour Al.Haddabi.

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Al.Haddabi, M., Vuthaluru, H., Znad, H. et al. Removal of Dissolved Organic Carbon from Oily Produced Water by Adsorption onto Date Seeds: Equilibrium, Kinetic, and Thermodynamic Studies. Water Air Soil Pollut 226, 172 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-015-2443-1

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