Evaluation of the Usefulness of Peat for Removal of Chlorophenols from Water Solutions

Three chlorophenols of various number of chlorine atoms in the molecule (4-CP, 2,4-DCP and 2,4,6-TCP) were selected for experiments. Removal of these compounds from aqueous solutions has been studied using commercially available Spill-Sorb peat from Parland County (Alberta, Canada). To describe the kinetic data pseudo-first and pseudo-second order models were used. The results showed that the adsorption of chlorophenols on the peat fitted well the pseudo-second order kinetic model. The values of the rate constants k(2) decreased with the increase in the initial concentration of chlorophenol and with the increase in the number of chlorine atoms in the molecule. Adsorption was analysed as a function of solution concentration at equilibrium. The experimental data received were found to be well described by the Freundlich isotherm equation. K-F and n values increased in the order 4-CP<2,4-DCP<2,4,6-TCP. This suggests that the adsorption efficacy increases with increasing number of chlorine atoms in the chlorophenol molecule.