Equilibrium, Kinetics, and Breakthrough Curve of Phenol Sorption on Zeolitic Material Derived from BFA

Abstract

Zeolitic material (ZBFA) was synthesized from the bagasse fly ash (BFA) by alkaline hydrothermal treatment for effective removal of phenol from aqueous solutions. The BFA and ZBFA were characterized by XRF, FTIR, PXRD, and SEM. Zeolite-P was found dominant constituent of the synthesized zeolitic materials. Batch sorption experiments were carried out to investigate the sorption capacity of synthesized material at various operational parameters. Sorption of phenol on BFA and ZBFA proceeds by pseudo-first order kinetic model. The overall sorption process was governed by intraparticle and external diffusion mechanisms. The practical applicability of the zeolitic material has been investigated in the column operation mode. The value of breakthrough capacity (38.68 mg/g) was more than batch capacity (35.42 mg/g).