Skip to main content

Advertisement

Springer Nature Link
Log in

Synthesis of Borassus flabellifer fruit husk activated carbon filter for phenol removal from wastewater

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The present study investigated the adsorption of phenol from aqueous solution by adsorption onto Borassus flabellifer fruit husk activated carbon (BFAC). The activated carbon was produced by three activation processes like pyrolysis (BFAC), sulfuric acid (H2SO4-BFAC), and zinc chloride (ZnCl2-BFAC) method. BET, SEM, EDAX, XRD, and FTIR studies were examined to test the adsorption behavior of synthesized carbons. Characterization studies and batch studies reveal that among the three carbons, ZnCl2-BFAC was found to be the best one for the removal of phenol with high surface area (1389 m2/g) and maximum adsorption efficiency (95%). Isotherm and kinetics studies were explained that adsorption of phenol by all the three carbons follow multilayer adsorption process. Desorption studies indicated that spent carbon could be regenerated by using 0.1 M NaOH. 87.6% of phenol removal was achieved by ZnCl2-BFAC in real textile industry wastewater. Cost analysis suggested that the prepared activated carbons are economically cheaper than the commercial activated carbons.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+
from $39.99 /Month
  • Starting from 10 chapters or articles per month
  • Access and download chapters and articles from more than 300k books and 2,500 journals
  • Cancel anytime
View plans

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

Explore related subjects

Discover the latest articles and news from researchers in related subjects, suggested using machine learning.

References

  • Abdullah AH, Kassim A, Zainal T (2000) Preparation and characterization of activated carbon from gelam wood bark (Melaleuca cajuputi). Malays J Anal Sci 7(1):65–68

    Google Scholar 

  • Achak M, Hafidi A, Ouazzani N, Sayadi S, Mandi L (2009) Low cost biosorbent banana peel for the removal of phenolic compounds from olive mill wastewater: kinetic and equilibrium studies. J Hazard Mater 166(1):117–125

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Agarwal S, Nekouei F, Kargarzadeh H, Nekouei S, Tyagi I, Gupta VK (2016) Preparation of nickel hydroxide nanoplates modified activated carbon for malachite green removal from solutions: kinetic, thermodynamic, isotherm and antibacterial studies. Process Saf Environ Protect 102:85–97

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ahmed MJ (2011) Preparation of activated carbons from date stones by chemical activation method using FeCl3 and ZnCl2 as activating agents. J Eng 4(17):1007–1022

    Google Scholar 

  • Akl MA, Dawy MB, Serage AA (2014) Efficient removal of phenol from water samples using sugarcane bagasse based activated carbon. J Anal Bioanal Tech 5:2. https://doi.org/10.4172/2155-9872.1000189

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Alhamed YA (2009) Adsorption kinetics and performance of packed bed adsorber for phenol removal using activated carbon from dates’ stones. J Hazard Mater 170(2–3):763–770

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Alvarez-Torrellas S, Garcia-Lovera R, Rodriguez A, Garcia J (2015) Removal of methylene blue by adsorption on mesoporous carbon from peach stones. Chem Eng Trans 43:1963–1968

    Google Scholar 

  • Arellano-Cardenas S, Gallardo-Velazquez T, Osorio-Revilla G, Lopez-Cortez M, Gomez- Perea B (2005) Adsorption of phenol and dichlorophenols fro aqueous solutions by porous clay heterostructure (PCH). J Mex Chem Soc 49(3):287–291

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Arumuga Prabu V, Manikandan V, Venkatesh R, Vignesh P, Vignesh S, Siva Sankar K, Sripathy P, Subburaj E (2015) Influence of redmud filler on palmyra fruit and palmyra fiber waste reinforced polyester composite: hardness, tensile and impact studies. Mater Phys Mech 24:41–49

    Google Scholar 

  • Bishnoi NM, Bajaj M, Sharma N, Gupta A (2004) Adsorption of Cr(VI) on activated rice husk carbon and activated alumina. Biores Technol 91:305–307

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bullibabu K, Dr Abid Ali MD, Veeranjaneyulu K (2018) Characterization and production of thermal insulating fired clay bricks with admixture of Bagasse and Palmyra fruit fiber. Mater Today 5:6973–6980

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chopra AK, Sharma AK, Kumar V (2011) Overview of electrolytic treatment: an alternative technology for purification of wastewater. Arch Appl Sci Res 3(5):191–206

    Google Scholar 

  • Cun-Guang Y (1998) Progress of optical determination for phenolic compounds in sewage. J Environ Sci 10(1):76–86

    Google Scholar 

  • Dabrowski A (2001) Adsorption—from theory to practice. Adv Colloid Interface Sci 93:135

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dursun AY, Kalayci CS (2005) Equilibrium, kinetic and thermodynamic studies on adsorption of phenol onto chitin. J Hazard Mater B123:151–157

    Google Scholar 

  • Ekpete OA, Horsfall M (2011) Kinetic sorption study of phenol onto activated carbon derived from fluted pumpkin stem waste (Telfairia occidentalis Hook. F). J Eng Appl Sci 6(6):43–49

    Google Scholar 

  • Ekpete OA, Marcus AC, Osi V (2017) Preparation and characterization of activated carbon obtained from plantain (Musaparadisiaca) fruit stem. J Chem Article ID 8635615: 6

  • Entezari MH, Petrier C (2005) A combination of ultrasound and oxidative enzyme: sono-enzyme degradation of phenols in a mixture. Ultrason Sonochem 12:283–288

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Feng J, Qiao K, Pei L, Lv J, Xie S (2015) Using activated carbon prepared from Typha Orientalis Presl to remove phenol from aqueous solutions. Ecol Eng 84:209–217

    Google Scholar 

  • Foo KY, Hameed BH (2010) Insights into the modeling of adsorption isotherm systems. Chem Eng J 156:2–10

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gao P, Feng YJ, Zhang ZH, Liu JF, Ren NQ (2012) Effect of heavy metals and surfactants on the adsorption of phenolic compounds on sediment. Int J Environ Sci Technol 9:671–682

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ghaffari HR, Pasalari H, Tajvar A, Dindarloo K, Goudarzi B, Alipour V, Ghanbarneajd A (2017) Linear and nonlinear two-parameter adsorption isotherm modeling: a case-study. Int J Eng Sci (IJES) 6(9):01–11

    Google Scholar 

  • Giraldo L, Moreno-Pirajan JC (2008) Pb2+ adsorption from aqueous solutions on activated carbons obtained from lignocellulosic residues. Braz J Chem Eng 25:143–151

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Girish CR, Ramachandra Murty V (2014) Adsorption of phenol from aqueous solution using lantana camara, forest waste: kinetics, isotherm and thermodynamic studies. Int Scholarly Res Notices 2014:16

    Google Scholar 

  • Gundogdu A, Duran C, Senturk B, Soylak M, Duygu Ozdes H, Serencam H, Imamoglu M (2012) Adsorption of phenol from aqueous solution on a low-cost activated carbon produced from Tea industry waste: equilibrium, kinetic and thermodynamic study. J Chem Eng Data 57:2733–2743

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gupta S, Babu BV (2008) Economic feasibility analysis of low cost adsorbents for the removal of Cr(VI) from wastewater. In: Proceedings of international convention on water resources development and management (ICWRDM), BITS Pilani, Citeseer

  • Ho YS, Chiang TH, Hsueh YM (2005) Removal of basic dye from aqueous solution using tree fern as a biosorbent. Process Biochem 40(1):119–124

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Islam MA, Ahmed MJ, Khanday WA, Asif M, Hameed BH (2017) Mesoporous activated carbon prepared from NaOH activation of rattan (Lacosperma Secundiflorum) hydrochar for methylene blue removal. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 138:470–478

    Google Scholar 

  • Jain M, Garg VK, Kadirvelu K (2010) Adsorption of hexavalent chromium from aqueous medium onto carbonaceous adsorbents prepared from waste biomass. J Environ Manag 91:949–957

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jin X-J, Zhu YM (2014) Absorption of phenol on nitrogen-enriched activated carbon from wood fibreboard waste with chemical activation by potassium carbonate. J Chem Eng Process Technol. 5:199

    Google Scholar 

  • Karunarathne HDSS, Amarasinghe BMWPK (2013) Fixed bed adsorption column studies for the removal of aqueous phenol from activated carbon prepared from sugarcane bagasse. Energy Proc 34:83–90

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kavitha D, Namasivayam C (2006) IR, XRD and SEM studies on the mechanism of adsorption of dyes and phenols by coir pith carbon from aqueous phase. Micro Chem J 82(1):43–48

    Google Scholar 

  • Khalid A, Kazmi MA, Habib M, Jabeen S, Shahzad K (2015) Kinetic & equilibrium modelling of copper biosorption. JFET 22(1)

  • Kujawski WA, Warzawsk T, Ratajczak T, Porebski CW, Ostrowska I (2004) Application of pervaporation and adsorption to the phenol removal from wastewater. Seppurify Technol 40:123–134

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar S, Mohanty K, Meikap BC (2010) Removal of phenol from dilute aqueous solutions in a multistage bubble column adsorber using activated carbon prepared from Tamarindus indica wood. J Environ Protect Sci 4:1–7

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mohammad MR, Afaj AH, Mahmoud MN (2016) Study of some effecting factors on the removal of phenol from aqueous solutions by adsorption onto activated carbon. J Int Environ Appl Sci 11(2):148–153

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mohanty K, Das D, Biswas MN (2005) Adsorption of phenol from aqueous solutions using activated carbons prepared from Tectona grandis sawdust by ZnCl2 activation. Chem Eng J 115:121–131

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mousavi SA, Mehralian M, Khashij M, Parvanesh S (2017) Methylene blue removal from aqueous solutions by activated carbon prepared from N. Microphyllum (Ac-Nm): RSM analysis, isotherms and kinetics studies. Global NEST J 19(4):697–705

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moyo M, Mutare E, Chigondo F, Nyamunda BC (2012) Removal of phenol from aqueous solution by adsorption on yeast, saccharomyces cerevisiae. IJRRAS 11(3):486–494

    Google Scholar 

  • Mukherjee S, Kumar S, Misra AK, Fan M (2007) Removal of phenols from water environment by activated carbon, bagasse ash and wood charcoal. Chem Eng J 129:133–142

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Muthukumaran K, Sophie Beulah S (2010) SEM and FT-IR Studies on nature of adsorption of Mercury (II) and Chromium(VI) from wastewater using chemically activated Syzygium jambolanum nut carbon. Asian J Chem 22(10):7857–7864

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nagy B, Manzatu C, Maicaneanu A, Indolean C, Lucian BT, Majdik C (2014) Linear and nonlinear regression analysis for heavy metals removal using Agaricus bisporus macrofungus. Arab J Chem. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arabjc.2014.03.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Namasivayam C, Kavitha D (2003) Adsorptive removal of 2-Chlorophenol by low-cost coir pith carbon. J Hazard Mater 98:257–274

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Obi Reddy K, Uma Maheswari C, Dhlamini M, Kommula VP (2016) Exploration on the characteristics of cellulose microfibers from Palmyra palm fruits. Int J Polym Anal Characterization 21(4):286–295

    Google Scholar 

  • Qayoom A, Kazmi SA, Ali SN (2017) Equilibrium modelling for adsorption of aqueous Cd(II) onto turmeric: linear versus nonlinear regression analysis. Mor J Chem 5(2):362–370

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Redlich O, Peterson DL (1959) A useful adsorption isotherm. J Phys Chem 63(6):1024–1026

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rengaraj S, Moon S-H, Sivabalan R, Arabindoo B, Murugesan V (2002) Agricultural solid waste for the removal of organics: adsorption of phenol from water and wastewater by palm seed coat activated carbon. Waste Manag 22:543–548

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sabio M, Reinoso FR (2004) Role of chemical activation in the development and carbon porosity. Colloids Surfaces A 241:15–25

    Google Scholar 

  • Saleh TA (2011) The influence of treatment temperature on the acidity of MWCNT oxidized by HNO3 or a mixture of HNO3/H2SO4. Appl Surf Sci 257:7746–7751

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sarkar M, Acharya KP (2006) Use of fly ash for the removal ash for the removal of phenol and its analogues from contaminated water. Waste Manag 26:559–570

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Selvaraju G, Bakar NKA (2017) Production of a new industrially viable gree-activated carbon from Artocarpus integer fruit processing waste and evaluation of its chemical, morphological and adsorption properties. J Clean Prod 141:989–999

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shen J, Wang X-L, Niu Y-X, Wang Y-G, Liu G, Sheng Q-T (2017) Removal of phenol by powdered activated carbon prepared by residue extracted from coal gasification tar residue. Environ Technol. 10:1–8

    Google Scholar 

  • Smisek M, Cerney S (1970) Activated carbon, manufacture, properties and applications. Elsevier, New York, pp 10–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Srihari V, Das A (2008) Comparative studies on adsorptive removal of phenol by three agro-base carbons: equilibrium and isotherm studies. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 71:274–283

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Srihari V, Das A (2009) adsorption of phenol from aqueous media by an agro-waste (hemidesmus indicus) based activated carbon. Appl Ecol Environ Res 7(1):13–23

    Google Scholar 

  • Subha R, Namasivayam C (2010) ZnCl2–modified activated carbon from biomass coir pith for the removal of 2-chlorophenol by adsorption process. Bioremediation J 14(1):1–9

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sudhakara P, Obi Reddy K, Venkata Prasad C, Jagadeesh D, Kim HS, Kim BS, Bae SI, Song JI (2013) Studies on borassus fruit fiber and its composites with polypropylene. Compos Res 26(1):48–53

    Google Scholar 

  • Tabassi D, Harbi S, Louati I, Hamrouni B (2017) Response surface methodology for optimisation of phenol by activated carbon: isotherm and kinetic study. Indian J Chem Technol 24:239–255

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vieira AP, Santana SAA, Bezerra CWB, Silva HAS, Santos KCA, Melo JCP, Silva Filho EC, Airoldi C (2014) High performance maleated lignocellulose epicarp fibers for copper ion removal. Braz J Chem Eng 31(1):183–193

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yousefa RI, El-Eswed B (2009) The effect of pH on the adsorption of phenol and chlorophenols onto natural zeolite. Colloids and surfaces A: physicochem. Eng Aspects 334:92–99

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We are thankful to Dr. A. Ramadevi (Professor of Chemistry, Alagappa Chettiar College of Engineering and Technology, Karaikudi) for her expert guidance and support to do this work, and we gratefully acknowledge the help received from Dr. S. Manonmani (Professor of Chemistry, PSG College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore) for spectral analysis of samples.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Sri Guru Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, 641 110, India

    D. Sathya Priya

  2. Department of Chemistry, Jansons Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, 641 659, India

    M. V. Sureshkumar

Authors
  1. D. Sathya Priya
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M. V. Sureshkumar
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to D. Sathya Priya.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Editorial responsibility: Josef Trögl.

Electronic supplementary material

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sathya Priya, D., Sureshkumar, M.V. Synthesis of Borassus flabellifer fruit husk activated carbon filter for phenol removal from wastewater. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 17, 829–842 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-019-02325-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-019-02325-3

Keywords