Adsorption characteristics of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from non-aqueous media using activated carbon derived from phenol formaldehyde resin: kinetics and thermodynamic study

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 24; no. 5; pp. 4228 - 4240
• Main Authors: El-Shahawi, M. S., Bashammakh, A. S., Alwael, H., Alsibaai, A. A., Dowaidar, A. M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.02.2017; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: a global challenge; Activated carbon; Adsorption; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Carbon - chemistry; Carbon dioxide; Carbonization; Charcoal - chemistry; Differential thermal analysis; Differential thermogravimetric analysis; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Fluoranthene; Fluorene; Formaldehyde; Formaldehyde - chemistry; Gasification; Kinetics; Naphthalene; Organic solvents; Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs): a global issue; pH effects; Phenanthrene; Phenol - chemistry; Phenol formaldehyde; Phenol formaldehyde resins; Phenols; Phenols - chemistry; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons - chemistry; Polymers - chemistry; Pore size; Pore size distribution; Porosity; Pyrene; Size distribution; Surface area; Surface chemistry; Thermal analysis; Thermodynamics; Thermogravimetry; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Phenol formaldehyde resin; Kinetics and thermodynamics; Non-aqueous media; Equilibrium isotherms; Activated carbon; Adsorption of PAHs
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-015-4936-2

Porous carbons were prepared by carbonization and activation of phenol formaldehyde resin by gasification with CO 2 at 900 °C. Prepared activated carbon from phenol formaldehyde was characterized by measuring thermogravimetry (TG), differential thermal analysis (DTA), pH, surface area, porosity, and pore size distribution. The specific surface area (SSA) of these carbons ranges from 562 to 1904 m 2 /g, while their point of zero charge (pHPZC) varies from 2.6 to 8.8. The ability of the prepared activated carbon by gasification with CO 2 at 900 °C from phenol formaldehyde resin (PFAC) to remove a series of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), e.g., naphthalene, fluorene, phenanthrene, pyrene, and fluoranthene, from mixtures of organic solvents with different polarities and chemical structures was tested. The adsorption capacity increases with the increasing the SSA and pHPZC of the carbons, confirming the roles of dispersive interactions. The kinetics and thermodynamics of the adsorption of phenanthrene as a model compound of PAH on PFAC in the organic solvent were studied. The adsorption capacity became notably greater with an increase in contact time and initial phenanthrene concentration.