Removal of phenol and cyanide in multi-substrate system using copper impregnated activated carbon (Cu-GAC)

This study studies the process of removal of phenol and cyanide in multi-substrate system using copper impregnated Granular Activated Carbon (Cu-GAC). Effects of various process parameters on removal were taken into consideration. It was observed that under optimum conditions of pH 9, temperature 30 degrees C, adsorbent dose 10 g/L, initial concentration 200 mg/L phenol and 20 mg/L cyanide and contact time 18 h, approximate to 91% removal of phenol and 94% removal of cyanide takes place. Among equilibrium models, Extended Freundlich model was found suitable for description of adsorption of both phenol and cyanide. The maximum adsorption capacity for phenol and cyanide, calculated by Extended Langmuir model, was 292.95 and 3.21 mg/g of Cu-GAC, respectively. It was observed that phenol and cyanide show synergism in the process of adsorption from wastewater. Kinetic modeling of experimental data on adsorption of phenol and cyanide established the suitability of pseudo-first and -second order model for adsorption of phenol and cyanide on Cu-GAC, respectively. (c) 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 34: 1714-1723, 2015