A study on lower fatty acids and polyethylene glycols adsorption on activated carbon

Abstract

AbstractThe dependence of the Freundlich constants on molecular weight of members of a homologous series was studied using lower fatty acids and polyethylene glycols. The adsorption was conducted on powdered activated carbon Carboraffin at 18±1°C. The obtained results may be summarized as follows:The adsorption of both fatty acids and polyethylene glycols may be satisfactorily described by the Freundlich adsorption isotherm.The constant K from the Freundlich equation increases with increasing molecular weight of both fatty acids and polyethylene glycols.The exponent n was found to be practically constant for fatty acids but to decrease with increasing molecular weight of polyethylene glycols.The pH of solution exerts an influence upon the adsorption of fatty acids and has no influence upon the adsorption of polyethylene glycols. The amenability of fatty acids to the adsorption decreases with increasing pH. No adsorption may be expected above pH of 8.2.