• Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.330-338
• /
• 2018

This study investigated the possibility of using potassium titanate oxide ($K_2Ti_4O_9$) and acrylic acid-grafted polypropylene fabric (PP-g-AA) as adsorbents capable of removing strontium from aqueous solutions. $K_2Ti_4O_9$ showed the highest rate of strontium removal in the weak alkaline range, while the PP-g-AA increased strontium removal in the neutral range. Moreover, the adsorption capacity of the $K_2Ti_4O_9$ was not affected by the coexistence of K and Na ions, while the adsorption capacity decreased when Ca and Mg ions were present at the same concentration as that of strontium. When coexisted at the same concentration as strontium, Na, K, Ca, and Mg ions strongly reduced the adsorption capacity of the PP-g-AA. The results also indicated that the adsorption of strontium on $K_2Ti_4O_9$ was consistent with both the Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms. In contrast, the adsorption of strontium on the PP-g-AA was more consistent with the Langmuir isotherm model. Moreover, the adsorption equilibrium time of $K_2Ti_4O_9$ was generally 12 h, while that of the PP-g-AA was 5 h, indicating that the adsorption rates were consistent with the pseudo-second order kinetics model. $K_2Ti_4O_9$ and the PP-g-AA could be regenerated by simple washing with 0.5 N HCl.

• Carbon letters
• /
• v.9 no.4
• /
• pp.275-282
• /
• 2008

Chemically activated carbons were prepared from maize cobs, using phosphoric acid of variable concentration. The textural parameters of the activated carbons were determined from the nitrogen adsorption isotherms measured at 77 K. The chemistry of the carbon surface was determined by measuring the surface pH, the pHPZC and the concentration of the carbon - oxygen groups of the acid type on the carbon surface. Kinetics of Cr(VI) sorption/reduction was investigated at 303 K. Two processes were investigated in terms of kinetics and equilibrium namely; Cr(VI) removal and chromium sorption were studied at various initial pH (1-7). Removal of Cr(VI) shows a maximum at pH 2.5. At pH<2.5, sorption decreases because of the proton competition with evolved Cr(III) for ion exchange sites. The decrease of sorption at pH>2.5 is due to proton insufficiency and to the decrease of the extent of Cr(VI) reduction. The chemistry of the surface of activated carbon is an important factor in determining its adsorption capacity from aqueous solutions particularly when the sorption process involves ion exchange.

• Advances in environmental research
• /
• v.1 no.3
• /
• pp.223-236
• /
• 2012

Biosorption of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solution was studied with respect to the point of zero charge of coconut husk, dye concentration, particle size, pH, temperature, as well as adsorbent and NaCl concentration using coconut husk biomass. Amongst Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms studied, Langmuir adsorption isotherm showed better agreement. Pseudo second order kinetics model was found to be more suitable for data presentation as compared to pseudo first order kinetics model. Also, involvement of diffusion process was studied using intraparticle diffusion, external mass transfer and Boyd kinetic model. Involvement of intraparticle diffusion model was found to be more relevant (prominent) as compared to external mass transfer (in) for methylene blue biosorption by the coconut husk. Moreover, thermodynamic properties of MB biosorption by coconut husk were studied. Desorption of methylene blue from biomass was studied with different desorbing agents, and the highest desorption achieved was as low as 7.18% with acetone, which indicate stable immobilization. Under the experimental conditions MB sorption was not significantly affected by pH, temperature and adsorbent concentration but low sorption was observed at higher NaCl concentrations.

• Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.26-31
• /
• 2009

Sorption of $Ni^{2+}$ in aqueous solution was studied using montmorillonite. The experimental and equilibrium data fitted well to the Langmuir isotherm model. From the kinetics data for nickel sorption onto montmorillonite, the diffusion of $Ni^{2+}$ inside the clay particles was the dorminant step controlling the sorption rate and as such more important for $Ni^{2+}$ sorption than the external mass transfer. $Ni^{2+}$ was sorbed due to strong interactions with the active sites of the sorbent and the sorption process tends to follow the pseudo second-order kinetics. Thermodynamic parameters (${\Delta}G^{\circ},\;{\Delta}H^{\circ},\;{\Delta}S^{\circ}$) indicated a non spontaneous and endothermic adsorption process while the positive low value of the entropy change suggests low randomness of the solid/solution interface during the uptake of $Ni^{2+}$ by montmorilionite. Heavy metals such as $Ni^{2+}$ in aqueous bodies can effectively be sorbed by montmorillonite.

• Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.28-32
• /
• 2008

The photocatalytic treatment of water contaminated with 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) was explored in bench-scale experiments in batch mode using a Pyrex tube coated with a thin film of $TiO_2$ located inside a photoreactor. The reactor was aerated by purging it with compressed air before initiating the photocatalytic reaction. The rate of TNT degradation approximated first-order kinetics. The reaction rate constant decreased as the TNT concentration increased from 25 to 100 mg/L, while the first-order kinetics could be modeled using a Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The addition of the organic reductants methanol and EDTA significantly enhanced the rate of TNT degradation, with optimum results in the presence of 20% methanol by volume. EDTA increased the rate of TNT removal by enhancing the role of the reductants.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.53 no.3
• /
• pp.382-390
• /
• 2015

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) supports and amine additives were investigated to adsorb $CO_2$. PMMA supports were fabricated by using different ratio of pore forming agents (porogen) to control the BET specific surface area, pore volume and distribution. Toluene and xylene are used for porogens. Supported amine sorbents were prepared by wet impregnation of tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA) on PMMA supports. So we could identify the effect of the pore structure of supports and the quantity of impregnated TEPA on the adsorption capacity. The increased amount of toluene as pore foaming agent resulted in the decreased average pore diameter and the increased BET surface area. Polymer supports with huge different pore distribution could be fabricated by controlling the ratio of porogen. After impregnation, the support with micropore structure is supposed the pore blocking and filling effect so that it has low $CO_2$ capacity and kinetics due to the difficulty of diffusing. Macropore structure indicates fast adsorption capacity and low influence of amine loading. In case of support with mesopore, it has high performance of adsorption capacity and kinetics. So high surface area and meso-/macro- pore structure is suitable for $CO_2$ capture.

• Advances in environmental research
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.49-68
• /
• 2015

Chemically activated and carbonized adsorbents were prepared from Moringa oleifera pod husks (MOP), characterized and evaluated for their ability to remove a common antibiotic - ofloxacin (OFX) from aqueous solution. The pulverized precursor was steeped in a saturated ammonium chloride solution for a day to give the chemically activated adsorbent (AMOP). A portion of AMOP was pyrolyzed in a muffle furnace at 623 K for 30 min to furnish its carbonized analogue (CMOP). The adsorbents showed favorable physicochemical attributes. The effects of operational parameters such as initial OFX solution pH and concentration, adsorbent dosage, temperature and contact time on OFX removal were investigated. At equilibrium, optimal removal efficiencies of 90.98% and 99.84% were achieved at solution pH 5 for AMOP and CMOP, respectively. The equilibrium adsorption data fitted into both the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. Gibbs free energy change (${\Delta}G^o$), enthalpy change (${\Delta}H^o$) and entropy change (${\Delta}S^o$) indicated that the adsorption of OFX was feasible, spontaneous, exothermic and occurred via the physisorption mode. Adsorption kinetics obeyed the Blanchard pseudo-second-order model. The results may find applications in the adsorptive removal of micro-contaminants of pharmaceutical origin from wastewater.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.26 no.5
• /
• pp.581-586
• /
• 2015

Adsorption of Safranin using granular activated carbon from aqueous solution was investigated. Batch experiments were carried out as a function of adsorbent dose, initial concentration, contact time and temperature. The equilibrium adsorption data were fitted to Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm models. Based on an estimated Langmuir separation factor, $R_L=0.183{\sim}0.254$ and a Freundlich separation factor, 1/n = 0.518~0.547, this process could be employed as an effective treatment method. Adsorption data were also modeled using the pseudo-first and second-order kinetic equations. It was shown that the pseudo-second-order kinetic equation could best describe the adsorption kinetics. The negative Gibbs free energy (${\Delta}G=-3.688{\sim}-7.220kJ/mol$) and positive enthalpy (${\Delta}H=33.126kJ/mol$) indicated that the adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
• /
• v.7 no.6
• /
• pp.521-537
• /
• 2016

Laboratory-scale experiments were carried out to investigate the adsorption equilibrium, the adsorption kinetics and facilitated transport of two cationic dyes (Methylene Blue (MB) and Rhodamine B (RB)) on Polymer Inclusion Membrane (D2EHPA-PIM). Different adsorption isotherms (Freundlich, Langmuir and Temkin models) as well as kinetics models indicated that the adsorption process is spontaneous and exothermic. Under the optimal conditions, the adsorption removal efficiencies reach about 93% and 97% for MB and RB respectively. Different extraction values by D2EHPA-PIM were obtained for the two cationic dyes: MB is weakly extracted at pH 2.0 (E% = 18.7%) whilst E% = 82.4% was observed for RB at the same pH. This difference was exploited in a mixture containg both the 2 cationic dyes for the selective extraction of RB at pH 2. Desorption of both dyes was achieved from the membrane by using acidic aqueous solutions and desorption ratio up to 90% was obtained. The formulas of the extracted complexes by the PIMs were, determined by the method of slopes. The dyes transport was elucidated using mass transfer analysis where in it found relatively high values of the initial flux ($J_0$) as 41.57 and $18.74{\mu}mol.m^2.s^{-1}$ for MB and RB respectively.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Sciences Society Conference
• /
• 2019.10a
• /
• pp.134-134
• /
• 2019

Utilization of organic waste as a renewable energy source is promising for sustainability and mitigation of climate change. Pyrolysis converts organic waste to gas, oil, and biochar by incomplete biomass combustion. Biochar is widely used as a soil conditioner and adsorbent. Biochar adsorbs/desorbs metals and ions depending on the soil environment and condition to act as a nutrient buffer in soils. Biochar is also regarded as a carbon storage by fixation of organic carbon. Phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) are strictly controlled in many wastewater treatment plants because it causes eutrophication in water bodies. P and N is removed by biological and chemical methods in wastewater treatment plants and transferred to sludge for disposal. On the other hand, P is an irreplaceable essential element for all living organisms and its resource (phosphate rock) is estimated about 100 years of economical mining. Therefore, P and N recovery from waste and wastewater is a critical issue for sustainable human society. For the purpose, intensive researches have been carried out to remove and recover P and N from waste and wastewater. Previous studies have shown that biochars can adsorb and desorbed phosphates implying that biochars could be a complementary fertilizer. However, most of the conventional biochar have limited capacity to adsorb phosphates and nitrate. Recent studies have focused on biochar impregnated with metal salts to improve phosphates and nitrate adsorption by synthesizing biochars with novel structures and surface properties. Metal salts and metal oxides have been used for the surface modification of biochars. If P removal is the only concern, P adsorption kinetics and capacity are the only important factors. If both of P and N removal and the application of recovery are concerned, however, P and N desorption characteristics and bioavailability are also critical factors to be considered. Most of the researches on impregnated biochars have focused on P removal efficiency and kinetics. In this study, coffee waste is thermally treated to produce biochar and it was impregnated with Mg/Al to enhance phosphates and nitrate adsorption/desorption and P bioavailability to increase its value as a fertilizer. Kinetics of phosphates and nitrate adsorption/desorption and bioavailability analysis were carried out to estimate its potential as a P and N removal adsorbent in wasewater and a fertilizer in soil.