Dynamic adsorption of anionic dyes by apricot shell activated carbon

A continuous adsorption study in fixed-bed columns was investigated using apricot shell activated carbon as an adsorbent for the removal of anionic dyes (Acid Red and Acid Orange II. The effects of the typical column parameters, such as the bed height, influent flow rate, and initial dye concentration, on the breakthrough curves were studied. The increase in bed height resulted in an extension of the breakthrough and exhaustion time, while the increase of both the influent flow rate and initial dye concentration decreased the breakthrough and exhaustion time. The bed depth service time, Bohart-Adams, Yoon-Nelson, and Thomas models were applied to simulate fixed-bed adsorption data and to gain the characteristic parameters of the column. All models were found suitable for describing the whole or a definite part of the dynamic behavior of the column with respect to flow rate and bed height.