Removal of Phenol and Parachlorophenol from Synthetic Wastewater Using Prepared Activated Carbon from Agricultural Wastes

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to remove Phenol and Parachlorophenol from synthetic wastewater using prepared activated carbon from agricultural wastes (rice husk, (RH) date stones, (DS) and palm fronds, (PF)) utilizing chemical and physical activation methods. Three principal operating parameters have been considered which are activation temperature, activation time, and impregnation ratio. The results showed that the activated carbon prepared from rice husk by chemical method at a temperature of 700 C, activation time of 3 hours, and impregnation ratio of 3: 1 gives highest removal of phenol and Parachlorophenol. The results also showed that the activated carbon prepared by physical method from rice husk gives higher removal efficiency for phenol and Parachlorophenol than that of activated carbon prepared from date stones and palm fronds. The results also showed that the rate of removal of Phenol and Parachlorophenol increases with the increase of activation temperature, activation time, and impregnation ratio. The highest removal of phenol and Parachlorophenol are (84.38% and 94.65%) respectively. Application of the most prominent adsorption models shows acceptable agreement with Langmuir and Temkin models. Maximum adsorption capacity for the prepared activated carbon is found to be 39 mg/g and 38.82 mg/g for Phenol, 44.64 mg/g and 44.94 mg/g for Parachlorophenol respectively.