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Silver Nanoparticle-Loaded Activated Carbon as an Adsorbent for the Removal of Mercury from Arabian Gas-Condensate

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Abstract

For the first time, an efficient method for the removal of mercury from Arabian gas-condensate samples was reported. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) functionalized with activated carbon (AC) prepared from local date-pits were used as an adsorbent. The physical and chemical properties of AgNP-AC were characterized using surface characterization techniques, and the adsorbent was evaluated under different experimental conditions. These factors considered include AgNP concentrations, contact time, the adsorbent dosage of AgNP-AC and initial mercury concentration. Langmuir adsorption isotherm, pseudo-second-order kinetics and Weber intraparticle diffusion models were used to evaluate the adsorption properties of the AgNP-AC. The results obtained revealed that at a low contact time, 25 mM AgNPs functionalized on AC provided the highest adsorption efficiency (98%) in the removal of mercury from Arabian gas-condensate. Also, it was observed that the increase in AgNP-AC dosage and initial mercury concentration plays a significant role in the mercury removal process. With a correlation coefficient of 0.9987, the adsorption process fits the Langmuir isotherm, suggesting that the adsorption is homogenous and monolayer.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the Deanship of Scientific Research and the King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals for the research support.

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Correspondence to Azeem Rana.

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Adio, S.O., Rana, A., Chanabsha, B. et al. Silver Nanoparticle-Loaded Activated Carbon as an Adsorbent for the Removal of Mercury from Arabian Gas-Condensate. Arab J Sci Eng 44, 6285–6293 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-018-3682-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-018-3682-4

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