Evaluation of adsorption treatment method for removal of phenol and acetone from industrial wastewater

Due to the toxins included in wastewater, wastewater reuse is becoming more and more important as a method of protecting the aquatic environment and conserving freshwater resources. Components of organic matter coming from wastewater treatment plant effluents are among the factors to be concerned about for human and environmental health. Therefore, to solve this problem, the objectives of this study were to treat simulated industrial wastewater for the removal of organic components (phenol, acetone, and mixed components) by batch adsorption system using different types of charcoal adsorbents such as; granular charcoal (GC), powder charcoal artificial (PCA), and powder charcoal commercial (PCC). To find the best operating conditions for removal efficiency, the effects of contact time, adsorbent dose, organic component concentration, pH, and shaking speed were studied. The characterization properties of the adsorbent were determined by utilizing Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The adsorption isotherm models of Langmuir and Freundlich, as well as the kinetic models of pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order, were investigated. The highest phenol, acetone, and mixed components removal efficiency were 93.79% (residual = 0.310 ppm), 97.08% (residual = 0.146 ppm), and 84.19% (residual = 0.790 ppm), respectively, at 1 g/L powder charcoal commercial adsorbent, 120 min of contact time, 5 ppm of organic component concentration, 150 rpm of mixing speed, and acid pH = 3 of solution. According to the results, it was found that the best type of charcoal was powder charcoal commercial for the treatment of organic components to produce quality water that meets the standards of the World Health Organization (WHO), and the best adsorption isotherm model was the Langmuir model for acetone treatment but the Freundlich model for phenol treatment.