Kinetic and Isotherm Modelling of the Adsorption of Phenolic Compounds
from Olive Mill Wastewater onto Activated Carbon
Bahar Aliakbarian*, Alessandro A. Casazza and Patrizia Perego
Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Genoa, Via
Opera Pia 15, IT-16145 Genoa, Italy
Article history:
Received July 12, 2014
Accepted January 27, 2015
Key words:
olive wastewater treatment, kinetics, polyphenol adsorption, activated carbon, modelling
Summary:
The adsorption of phenolic compounds from olive oil wastewater by commercial activated carbon was studied as a function of adsorbent quantity and temperature. The sorption kinetics and the equilibrium isotherms were evaluated. Under optimum conditions (8 g of activated carbon per 100 mL), the maximum sorption capacity of activated carbon expressed as mg of caff eic acid equivalent per g of activated carbon was 35.8 at 10 °C, 35.4 at 25 °C and 36.1 at 40 °C. The pseudo-second-order model was considered as the most suitable for kinetic results, and Langmuir isotherm was chosen to bett er describe the sorption system. The results confirmed the efficiency of activated carbon to remove almost all phenolic compound fractions from olive mill effluent. The preliminary results obtained will be used in future studies. The carbohydrate fraction of this upgraded residue could be employed to produce bioethanol, and adsorbed phenolic compounds can be recovered and used in different industries.
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