Effect of molecular oxygen on adsorptive capacity and extraction efficiency of granulated activated carbon for three ortho-substituted phenols

• Published in: Journal of hazardous materials Vol. 38; no. 3; pp. 373 - 388
• Main Authors: Vidic, R.D., Suidan, M.T., Sorial, G.A., Brenner, R.C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 1994
• ISSN: 0304-3894; 1873-3336
• DOI: 10.1016/0304-3894(93)E0129-P

Adsorptive capacity of activated carbon for several organic compounds was found to be strongly influenced by the presence of molecular oxygen. This influence is manifested by the polymerization of adsorbate on the surface of activated carbon. As a result, GAC exhibits much higher adsorptive capacities for these compounds under oxic rather than under anoxic conditions. Therefore, a new experimental procedure for conducting adsorption isotherm tests is investigated in this work. The results of kinetic experiments show that this polymerization of adsorbate proceeds at a very slow rate which extends the time required for equilibrium conditions to be established. Extraction efficiency obtained for GAC used in anoxic isotherm experiments were significantly higher than those obtained for GAC used in isotherm experiments conducted in the presence of molecular oxygen.