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Activated Carbon Adsorption of Fuel Oxygenates MTBE and ETBE from Water

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Abstract

The aqueous phase adsorption of fuel oxygenates methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) and ethyl tertiary butyl ether (ETBE) onto commercially available granular activated carbon (GAC; Norit GAC 1240) was investigated in a batch system at 27°C. The oxygenate concentrations were determined by headspace gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analyses. The experimental data were used with four two-parameter isotherm models (Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, and Dubinin–Radushkevich) and two kinetic models (pseudo first-order and pseudo second-order) to determine equilibrium and kinetic parameters. Considering the correlation coefficient and root mean square error, Dubinin–Radushkevich isotherm showed better fit with the equilibrium data for MTBE. However, the performances of Langmuir and Dubinin–Radushkevich models were comparable for ETBE. The adsorption capacities were calculated as 5.50 and 6.92 mg/g for MTBE and ETBE, respectively, at an equilibrium solution concentration of 1 mg/L using Dubinin–Radushkevich isotherm. The differences between the model predictions and experimental data were similar for the pseudo first-order and pseudo second-order kinetic models. Gibbs free-energy changes of adsorption were found to be −22.59 and −28.55 kJ/mol for MTBE–GAC and ETBE–GAC systems, respectively, under the experimental conditions studied.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported in part by the Technical and Scientific Research Council of Turkey (MISAG-269) and the Izmir Institute of Technology (IZTECH) Research Fund (2004-IYTE 16). We would like to thank Izmir Regional Institute of Hygiene, IZTECH Environmental Research Center, and IZTECH Center for Material Research for their technical assistance.

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  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Izmir Institute of Technology, Gulbahce-Urla, 35430, Izmir, Turkey

    Fikret Inal, Senem Yetgin, Gulsum T. Aksu, Selvi Simsek, Aysun Sofuoglu & Sait C. Sofuoglu

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  1. Fikret Inal
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  2. Senem Yetgin
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  3. Gulsum T. Aksu
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Correspondence to Fikret Inal.

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Inal, F., Yetgin, S., Aksu, G.T. et al. Activated Carbon Adsorption of Fuel Oxygenates MTBE and ETBE from Water. Water Air Soil Pollut 204, 155–163 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-009-0034-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-009-0034-8

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