Removal of Phenols from Aqueous Solutions by Purolite A‐510 Resin

Abstract

Experiments on the removal of various phenols from aqueous solution by Purolite A‐510 resin, a strongly basic anion polystyrene–divinylbenzene resin with quaternary ammonium group, were carried out under different operating conditions in batch reactors. The phenols studied in this research include 2‐chlorophenol, 2,4‐dichlorophenol, 2,4,6‐trichlorophenol, 2‐nitrophenol, 2,4‐dinitrophenol, 2‐methylphenol, and 2,4‐dimethylphenol. The experimental observations indicate that the removal of various phenols by Purolite A‐510 resin could be described by either Langmuir or Freundlich models. The removals of phenols by Purolite A‐510 resin for solutions of different pH varied significantly and can be explained by the species distribution of phenols in aqueous solutions. Phenols were adsorbed by Purolite A‐510 resin at acidic conditions where the presence of molecular phenol species dominates. The removal increased sharply for alkaline solutions where the negatively charged ionic phenol species is exchanged with chloride ion on the resin. The removal of phenols by Purolite A‐510 resin in alkaline/neutral solutions was interfered in the presence of chloride ions. The proposed equilibrium model adequately describes the sorption behavior of phenols by Purolite A‐510 resin. The removals of phenols were found to correlate with the octanol/water partition coefficients of various phenol compounds.