Kinetics, Isotherm, and Thermodynamic Studies of the Adsorption Mechanism of PFOS and PFOA Using Inactivated and Chemically Activated Maize Tassel
2020
Omo-Okoro, Patricia N. | Curtis, Christopher J. | Karásková, Pavlína | Melymuk, Lisa | Oyewo, Opeyemi A. | Okonkwo, Jonathan O.
The extreme persistence, bioaccumulative, and toxicity tendencies of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have contributed to the ever-increasing quest for effective and low-cost technologies for removing PFAS from aqueous solutions. Therefore, in the present study, maize tassel (MT) was activated using phosphoric acid. The chemically activated maize tassel (CAMT) was thereafter applied as an adsorbent for removing perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) from aqueous media in comparison with the inactivated MT. The adsorption behaviors of PFOS and PFOA onto MT and CAMT were investigated via adsorption experiments. It was found that the isothermal data fit better with the Freundlich isotherm model than with the Langmuir isotherm model. Maximum adsorption capacities of 1552.5 mg g⁻¹ (3.10 mmol g⁻¹) and 380.32 mg g⁻¹ (0.92 mmol g⁻¹) were recorded for PFOS and PFOA, respectively, using CAMT, when the Freundlich model was applied. Equilibrium was attained within 60 min using both MT and CAMT. The pseudo-second-order kinetics model suited the kinetics data better. It was observed from the thermodynamic studies that the adsorption mechanism of PFOS and PFOA on MT and CAMT is spontaneous and feasible. All the values for the Gibb’s free energy change (ΔG⁰, kJ mol⁻¹) obtained in the present study were below − 20 kJ mol⁻¹. The adsorption of PFOS and PFOA using CAMT is exothermic in nature (enthalpy, ΔH⁰ was negative) whereas the adsorption of PFOS and PFOA using MT is endothermic. The PFOS and PFOA adsorption processes using both MT and CAMT were greatly influenced by electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions. Graphical abstract
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