Study of benzene and toluene adsorption on granular activated carbon

Thesis/Dissertation · Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1981

OSTI ID:5993847

Samaneh, T S.A.

Benzene and toluene are among the organic compounds designated by EPA as priority pollutants because of their toxicity to man and the environment. Activated carbon has been used to remove organic compounds from waters for many years. However, little or no information is available in the literature on the removal of specific organic compounds by activated carbon. Therefore, this study was undertaken to investigate the adsorption of benzene and toluene from aqueous solutions onto granular activated carbon. Calgon Filtrasorb 400 carbon was used as the adsorbent. The samples were analyzed on a Perkin-Elmer Sigma 3B gas chromatograph with flame ionization equipped with an HS-6 Head Space Sampler. The data fit the Freundlich isotherm model well with a high correlation coefficient. The pH of the test solutions at 3, 6.5, and 9 shows no effect on benzene adsorption and slight effect on toluene adsorption. The study shows that the amount of benzene or toluene adsorbed increases with increasing initial concentrations. Competitive adsorption of benzene and toluene when present in aqueous mixtures together and with chloroform, acetone, and tert-butanol, shows a significant reduction in benzene adsorption and a little effect on toluene adsorption. Also this study shows that ozone oxidizes benzene and toluene more effectively at pH 3 and 6.5 than at pH 9. The benzene adsorption is reduced somewhat in the presence of ozone byproducts of benzene. However, the toluene adsorption is enhanced in the presence of toluene ozonation byproducts.

• OSTI ID: 5993847
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS//MATHEMATICS, COMPUTING, AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
37 INORGANIC
ORGANIC
PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
BENZENE
ADSORPTION
TOLUENE
ACTIVATED CARBON
AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY
PH VALUE
PUBLIC HEALTH
ADSORBENTS
AROMATICS
CARBON
DISPERSIONS
ELEMENTS
HYDROCARBONS
MIXTURES
NONMETALS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
SAFETY
SOLUTIONS
SORPTION
552000* - Public Health
400201 - Chemical & Physicochemical Properties
560300 - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology