Continuous fixed-bed studies for adsorptive remediation of phenol by garlic peel powder

P Muthamilselvi,Ashish Kapoor,R Karthikeyan,S Prabhakar

doi:10.1007/s40090-018-0166-z

P Muthamilselvi, Ashish Kapoor + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40090-018-0166-z

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Abstract

In the quest for eco-friendly and cost-effective adsorbents for the removal of phenol from aqueous systems, garlic peel has been identified as a potential candidate in our earlier study. In the current investigations, we have studied the performance of garlic peel powder in packed fixed-bed column, to assess its potential for real-time deployment for remediation of phenol-contaminated aqueous effluents. Accordingly, parametric studies were carried out with reference to feed concentration, bed height, and flow rate. The experiments indicated the suitability of garlic peel powder-packed columns for remediation of phenol present in aqueous effluents. Salient observations include the improvement of adsorption and remediation efficiency at lower feed flow rates. The assessment of the experimental data using different theoretical models indicated the applicability of Yoon–Nelson model for the adsorption of phenol by garlic peel powder.

Highlights

Water contamination by phenolic substances is of increasing concern in recent years due to their high toxicity and potential accumulation in the ecological cycle
The uptake of phenol by garlic peel powder was studied at three different volumetric flow rates: 15, 20, and 25 mL/min to examine the impact of flows on the sorption bed performance
The studies have indicated that the process of removal of phenol from aqueous systems using garlic peel powder can be successfully translated to the field, as the removal is possible in continuous mode

Summary

Introduction

Water contamination by phenolic substances is of increasing concern in recent years due to their high toxicity and potential accumulation in the ecological cycle. Several techniques have been investigated for the remediation of phenol and its derivatives from wastewater streams including distillation, solvent extraction, adsorption, and coagulation besides biological processes [2, 3]. All these processes offer varying degrees of success in the removal of phenol from waste streams.

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