Activated Carbon Adsorption of Some Phenolic Compounds Present in Agroindustrial Wastewater

Single solute and simultaneous experimental adsorption isotherms of three phenolic compounds: gallic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid and syringic acid, have been investigated at 20, 30 and 40°C, using a bituminous coal based activated carbon. Regardless of temperature, the capacity of the activated carbon used to adsorb these compounds presented the following order: syringic acid > p-hydroxybenzoic acid > gallic acid. The increase of temperature slightly favored the adsorption capacity of the phenolic compounds. In binary and ternary component adsorption, experimental data suggest that interactions between adsorbates improve the adsorption capacity of some of the phenolic acid compounds. On the contrary, at high organic concentrations, adsorbed gallic acid was partially removed from the activated carbon surface because of the presence of the other components.