A Study on the Adsorption Characteristic of Low Concentration Phenol by Activated Carbon

저농도(低濃度) 페놀의 활성탄(活性炭)에 대한 흡착특성(吸着特性)에 관(關)한 연구(硏究)

It is well known that the adsorption character of activated carbon is dependent on the specific surface area and pore volume, but the relationship between the surface-chemical structure and the adsorption character has not been studied very often. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the acidic surface functional groups of activated carbon and the adsorption characteristics of low concentration phenol. So three types of activated carbons and four different treatments were introduced to this isotherm experiment. These treatments were nontreatment, 1N $HNO_3$ treatment, 6N $HNO_3$ treatment, $H_2O_2$ treatment. The conclusions of this study are as followings. If the initial concentration of phenol is high as 5mg/l, the adsorption is dependent on the specific surface area. If the initial concentration of phenol is low as $100{\mu}g/l$, the adsorption is dependent on the average pore volume. The acidic surface functional groups prevent the adsorption of phenol molecules to activated carbon. And the adsorbed amount decreases more for $HNO_3$ treatment than for $H_2O_2$ treatment and more for concentrated $HNO_3$ treatment than for dilute $HNO_3$ treatment.