Kinetics of adsorption of di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) by four different granule-activated carbons

Abstract

The kinetics of the adsorption of an endocrine disruptor, di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), by four different granulated-activated carbons (GACs) is presented in this paper. Results showed that adsorption of DBP by the four GACs followed first-order kinetics and the adsorption constant of the four GAC was found to follow the order: nut shell>coconut shell>Coaly carbon 1.0>Coaly carbon 1.5. Batch adsorption studies were also conducted to investigate the effect of pH on the adsorption process. The optimum pH for the removal of DBP from aqueous solutions under the experimental conditions used in this work was found to be 5.0. The characterization of the carbon surfaces was conducted by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, results from infrared spectroscopic (IR) studies showed that physical adsorption plays an important role in the adsorption of DBP by the four selected GACs.