Adsorption of phenol on different activated carbons prepared from date pits

The potential use of different activated carbons (ACs) prepared from dates pits and phosphoric acid for the removal of phenol from aqueous solutions was investigated. Date pits were converted into five different types of activated carbons by air and phosphoric acid activation. The specific surface area (BET) of the prepared ACs varied from 794m²/g, for the phosphoric acid:date pit ratio of 5:1, to 1707m²/g for a ratio of 2:1. Batch adsorption experiments revealed that the adsorption of phenol varied among all of the prepared ACs, where the 2:1 AC showed the highest uptake. Equilibrium pH studies showed that the phenol removal was pH dependent and the maximum phenol uptake occurred at an equilibrium pH of 3.0. Dynamics studies indicated that the initial uptake of phenol on 2:1 AC at pH 4 was rapid, where 80% of the maximum uptake was achieved during the first 30 minutes; both surface adsorption and intraparticle diffusion were involved in the adsorption process and the data followed the pseudo second-order reaction. The equilibrium adsorption data of phenol on 2:1 AC at solution pH 3 was best described by the Redlich-Peterson, Sips, and Langmuir models.