Adsorptive removal of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid via cross-linked polymeric microbeads: analysis of isothermal, kinetic and thermodynamic parameters

Abstract

In this study, the performance of cross-linked microbeads prepared through suspension polymerization was investigated for removal of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (4-HBA) from aqueous solution. Adsorption studies were conducted at different pHs (2.0–8.0), temperatures (282–308 K) and initial 4-HBA concentrations (1–500 mg/L). The maximum 4-HBA adsorption was 49.05 ± 2.89 mg/g at pH 2.0 (282 K). The adsorption data obeyed to the Langmuir isotherm model. The modified Ritchie second-order and the pseudo second-order kinetic model fitted the adsorption data. The 4-HBA adsorption capacity did not significantly change after 10 consecutive usages. Gibbs free energy changes of the adsorption were calculated as −24.372, −28.431 and −29.093 kJ/mol for 282, 298 and 308 K, respectively. The microbeads were also used for the removal of 4-HBA from spiked river water samples. The removal efficiencies of 43.2% to 68.8% and RSDs of 0.49% to 4.78% demonstrated the usability of the microbeads in application.