ISSN-1996-918X
Pak. J. Anal. Environ. Chem. Vol. 9, No. 2 (2008)
Phenol Removal from Aqueous System by Jute Stick
A. I. Mustafa1, M. Saiful Alam2, M. N. Amin1, N. M. Bahadur2 and A. Habib3*
1
Department of Applied Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh.
2
Applied Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Noakhali -3802, Bangladesh
3*
Department of Chemistry, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Abstract
The adsorption technique using jute sticks has been applied for the removal of phenol from
aqueous solutions. The extent of removal was dependent on concentration of phenol, contact time,
pH, and quantity of adsorbent. With an initial concentration of 40 ppm phenol in 100 mL and pH
10.0, the removal was found to be about 68% with 3.0 g jute stick. The time to reach equilibrium
was found to be 5 hr. The applicability of Freundlich isotherm to the adsorption of phenol system
was tested at 25 0C to 40 0C at pH 10.0. The spent adsorbent was regenerated by acid treatment.
Keywords: Removal; Phenol; Jute stick; Batch system; Freundlich isotherm.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Introduction
Phenolic compounds which are generated from onto activated carbon is abundant [12–14]. Due to the
petroleum and petrochemical, coal conversion, and relatively high cost of activated carbons there have been
phenol-producing industries, are common contaminants attempts to utilize low cost, naturally occurring
in wastewater and suspected as toxic and carcinogenic. adsorbents include straw, auto mobile tires, fly ash, coal
Therefore, phenol and phenolic compounds were reject, sewage sludge, bagasse, fertilizer waste and saw
designated as priority pollutants by the US EPA, which dust [15–19] to remove organic pollutants. However,
take the 11th place in the list of 129 chemicals [1]. Also the adsorption behavior of phenol on jute stick has not
the European Union (EU) has classified several phenols so far been extensively studied. The present study is
as priority contaminants and the 80/778/EC directive intended to use of this locally available as a
lays down a maximum concentration of 0.5 µg L-1 for conventional cheap material as a phenol adsorbent.
total phenols in drinking water [2]. Apart from their
toxicity and carcinogenity, phenols can cause bad taste Experimental
and odor, even at low concentration [3]. For this reason Materials and Method
it is necessary to eliminate phenols from wastewater Adsorbent
before it is discharged.
The jute sticks were carefully collected without
Various treatment technologies such as any contamination from local area. After collection, jute
adsorption [4–6, 21, 22], photodegradation [7], sticks were treated to make them ready for use. The jute
flocculation [8], chemical oxidation [9, 23, 24], sticks were dried initially in an oven at about 70 0C and
biological process [10], etc. are available for the then ground to fine mesh and the particles size of 177-
removal of phenol from the wastewater. Biological 62 µm were separated by sieving through standard test
process is particularly suited to wastewater containing sieves. Then these were boiled in distilled water
small amount of phenol. Oxidation is used when phenol continuously for 30 minutes. The suspension was then
concentration in wastewater is very high. In coagulation left to settle to allow the supernatant to be poured off.
and flocculation process, large amount of sludge is This process was repeated several times until the
generated which may cause disposal problems. Among coloured water-soluble components were removed
various physicochemical processes, adsorption is widely completely. Finally the washed adsorbent was dried in
used for the removal of phenol from wastewater [4,11]. an oven at 80 0C, allowed to cool and sieved into 177–
Literature on the adsorption of phenolic compounds 62µm for subsequent use.
*Corresponding Author Email: mahabibbit@[Link]
pdfMachine - is a pdf writer that produces quality PDF files with ease!
Get yours now!
“Thank you very much! I can use Acrobat Distiller or the Acrobat PDFWriter but I consider your
product a lot easier to use and much preferable to Adobe's" [Link] - USA
Pak. J. Anal. Environ. Chem. Vol. 9, No. 2 (2008)
Chemicals and apparatus bottles were then shaken at uniform speed at room
temperature using an electric shaker. However,
All the reagents and chemicals used were of A. experiments at higher temperatures were carried out in
R. Grade (BDH). The solutions were prepared in double beakers in a thermostatically controlled water bath using
distilled water. A stock solution of phenol was prepared electrical stirrer. At predetermined time intervals the
by dissolving 0.5g phenol in 500mL capacity volumetric contents were centrifuged and the remaining
flask. This was treated as stock solution of phenol concentration of phenol in the supernatant were
(1000ppm). The phenol estimation was done analyzed spectrophotometrically against respective
spectrophotometrically by the 4-aminoantipyrene reagent blank. The bottles containing phenol of different
method using Shimadzu UV-160 double beam concentration and the specified pH, were shaken for 6
spectrophotometer [20]. Buffer solutions of different pH hours to ensure complete saturation. The amount of
values procured from E. Merk (Germany) were used to phenol adsorbed was determined from the difference
keep the pH pf the solution fixed at a definite value. pH between the amount of phenol initially added and that
of the substrate was determined using a microprocessor left after adsorption. Batch experiments were also
bench pH meter (HANNA pH 300). performed to study the effect of temperature at (25, 30
and 400C) on adsorption of phenol by jute sticks.
Estimation of phenol by modified method Interestingly, temperature (250–400C) had no
appreciable effect on the adsorption of phenol and thus
The 4-aminoantipyrine method gave all subsequent experiments were carried out at room
unsatisfactory result [20]. So attempts were made to temperature. The concentration range of phenol
modify the 4-aminoantipyrine method. Preliminary adhering to Beer's law under the conditions of
experiments showed that phenol does not give any investigation for the system was 10–60ppm.
appreciable colour with 4-aminoantipyrine in presence
of potassium ferricyanide in acidic medium. But at pH Results and Discussion
8.0 phenol gives a deep brownish red colour whose Effect of concentration and contact time
intensity gradually increases up to pH 10.0 and then
sharply decreases. This colour system was made the Batch experiments were carried out to
basis for the development of the modified investigate the effect of phenol concentration on the
spectrophotometric method for the determination of extent of adsorption as a function of time for the initial
trace amount of phenol at a pH 10.0 instead of pH 8.0. phenol concentration of 10, 40, 50 and 60 ppm which is
Absorbance measurements, carried out against reagent shown in Fig. 1.
blanks, revealed that the absorption maxima is at 497
nm and that the time required for full colour 10
development is 40 minutes. Experimental result
revealed that 2 mL of 2.0% (w/v) 4-aminoantipyrine 8 60 ppm
solution is sufficient for the development of maximum
colour intensity of the system containing 40 ppm phenol 6
x/m, mg/gm
50 ppm
solution. Results of the effect of potassium ferricyamide
indicates that 6.0 mL of 8.0% of (w/v) potassium 4 40 ppm
ferricyanide solution is the optimum amount for the
development of the maximum colour intensity of the 2
10 ppm
system containing 40 ppm phenol solution. The colour
intensity of system under investigation was unaffected 0
by variation in temperature from 25 to 40 0C. It was also 0 100 200 300 400
observed that the colour intensity gradually decreases Time , min
beyond this range. It was found that the modified
method was more suitable. Fig.1:
Figure. 1. Effect Effectconcentration
of initial of initial concentration
and contact time on
phenol removal and contact time on phenol removal
Removal of phenol from aqueous solution
The percentage removal of phenol and
Batch adsorption: The batch experiments were phenolic compounds as well as the adsorption-
conducted using 1.0g of adsorbent in 250mL capacity desorption behavior were also varied. The maximum
stopper bottles with 100mL of phenol solution. The percentage of phenol removal took place within 5 hours.
adsorbate concentrations were varied in the range of 10– The equilibration time is independent of concentration
60ppm. The whole study was carried out at pH 10.0, at and hence this period was chosen for further equilibrium
higher pH the texture of the adsorbent is changed. The batch adsorption studies.
pdfMachine - is a pdf writer that produces quality PDF files with ease!
Get yours now!
“Thank you very much! I can use Acrobat Distiller or the Acrobat PDFWriter but I consider your
product a lot easier to use and much preferable to Adobe's" [Link] - USA
Pak. J. Anal. Environ. Chem. Vol. 9, No. 2 (2008)
higher pH values due to the repulsive forces prevailing
Adsorption isotherm at higher pH values. Similar behavior has been reported
for the adsorption of phenol by activated carbon [13].
The adsorption behavior of phenol on jute
sticks at all temperatures was in close agreement with Regeneration
the Freundlich equation. The constants KF and n
obtained from the linear regression analysis of 0.5 g of spent adsorbent after adsorption at pH
log x/m= log KF + 1/n log Ce 10.0 was washed with distilled water to remove any
The intercept log KF is roughly an indicator of sorption adhering phenol and was shaken with 100mL of 0.1M
capacity and the slope 1/n is adsorption intensity. HCl for regeneration which was completed within 30
Results of jute sticks are graphically presented in Fig. 2. minute duration. About 68% of the adsorbed quantity of
phenol from the initially present 40ppm was desorbed
from all the samples in a single step. It was then washed
1.5 with distilled water dried in a hot air oven and was
reused in subsequent operations. In this way after
regeneration samples can be reused in the operation. It
40oC
reduces the operation cost and thus may be very useful.
1
Log x/m
Optimum quantity of adsorbents
0.5
The amount of jute sticks taken were 0.5, 1.0,
1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 and 4.0 g to determine the optimum
30oC
quantity of jute sticks. The amount of reagents and
chemicals added were kept unchanged and pH was also
0 maintained at 10.0. From the adsorption data, it was
-5 -3 -1 1 3 5 found that adsorption is completed within 5 hr and the
Log Ce percentage of adsorption increases with the increasing
Fig. 2adsorption
Figure 2. Freundlich : Freundlich adsorption isotherm
isotherm amount of jute stick. The highest percentage of
adsorption was obtained by using the 3.0g of jute stick.
Therefore, optimum quantity was found to be 3.0g
Effect of Temperature which is shown in the Table 1.
Temperature is an important parameter for any Table 1. Optimum quantity of jute stick
separation process. Removal of phenol by jute sticks
was studied at four different temperatures: 25, 30, 35 Amount of jut stick Adsorption
(gm) (%)
and 40 0C. It was found that the temperature in the range
of 25–40 0C had no effect on the phenol removal. 0.5 54.35
Therefore all subsequent experiments were carried out 1.0 59.78
at room temperature.
1.5 61.86
Effect to pH 2.0 63.87
2.5 65.96
The removal of phenol from the wastewater is
highly dependent on pH of the solution. pH affects the 3.0 67.69
surface charge of the adsorbent and degree of ionization 4.0 67.68
and specification of phenol. The uptake with 40 ppm
phenol is small at low pH ranges and gradually
increases up to pH 10.0, where maximum removal 68% Conclusion
occurs. Thus 10.0 pH was chosen as the optimum and
all the subsequent experiments were carried out at this The present study shows that the jute stick is
pH. As was expected, the adsorbed amount decreases an effective adsorbent for the removal of phenol from
with increasing the pH value. This can be attributed to aqueous solutions. Moreover, in the context of the
the dependency of phenol ionization on the pH value. present efforts for the diversified uses of jute, a new
The ionic fraction of phenolate ion increases as the pH field will be opened if jute sticks are taken as
value increased. Accordingly, phenol, which is a weak adsorbents. Jute stick can be used as an adsorbent for
acid (pKa=10), will be adsorbed to a lesser extent at phenol removal in a wide pH range of 6–12. Under
pdfMachine - is a pdf writer that produces quality PDF files with ease!
Get yours now!
“Thank you very much! I can use Acrobat Distiller or the Acrobat PDFWriter but I consider your
product a lot easier to use and much preferable to Adobe's" [Link] - USA
Pak. J. Anal. Environ. Chem. Vol. 9, No. 2 (2008)
batch conditions equilibrium was attained in 5 h. 13. Halhouli, K. A., Darwish, N. A., Al-Jahmany, Y.,
Maximum removal of phenol was obtained with 3.0 g Effects of temperature and inorganic salts on the
jute stick at an initial pH of 10.0. The Freundlich adsorption of phenol from multicomponent
isotherm show very good fit with the experimental system on a decolorizing carbon. Separation
adsorption equilibrium data. Science and Technology 32, (1997) 3027.
14. A. R. Khan, T. A. Al-Bahri and A. Al-Haddad,
References Adsorption of phenol based organic pollutants on
activated carbon from multicomponent dilute
1. U. S. EPA, Federal Register, Washington, DC, aqueous solutions. Water Research 31, (1997)
52, 131 (1987) 25861. 2102.
2. I. Rodriguez, M. P. Llompart and R. Cela, Solid- 15. M. Streat, J. W. Patrick and M. J. Camporro
phase extraction of phenols. Journal of Perez, Water Res. 29 (1995) 467.
Chromatography 885, (2000) 291. 16. G. Q. Lu, J. C. F. Low, C. Y. Liu and A. C. Lua,
3. V. K. Gupta, S. Sharma, I. S. Yadav and D. Fuel 74 (1995) 344.
Mohan, J. Chem. Technol. Biotechnol. 71 (1998) 17. G. Q. Lu, Environ. Prog. 15 (1996) 12.
180. 18. S. K. Srivastava, V. K. Gupta, N. Johri and M.
4. A. A. M. Daifullah and B. S. Girgis, Water Res. Dinesh, Indian J. Chem. Technol. 2 (1995) 333.
32 (1998) 1169. 19. V. K. Gupta, S. K. Srivastava and T. Renu, Water
5. S. Dutta, J. K. Basu and R. N. Ghar, Sep. Purif. Res. 34 (2000) 1543.
Technol. 21 (2001) 227. 20. American Public Health Association. Standard
6. S. Haydar and M. A. Ferro-Garcia, J. Rivera- methods for the examination of water and waste
Utrilla, J. P. Joly, Carbon 41 (2003) 387. waters, 16th ed. 556 (1985) 558.
7. C. Wu, X. Liu, D. Wei, I. Fan and L. Wang, 21. S. Mishra, J. Bhattacharya, Malaysian Journal of
Water Res. 35 (2001) 3927. Chemistry, 9 (2007) 51.
8. T. A. Ozbelge, O. H. Ozbeze and S. Z. Baskaya, 22. P. S. Nayak and B. K. Sing, Disalination 207
Chem. Eng. Processing 41 (2002) 719. (2007) 71.
9. V. Kavita, K. Palanivelu, Chemosphere 55 23. S. Ghasempur, S. F. Turab, S. O. Ranaei-Saidat,
(2004) 1235. N. Ghaemi and K. Khajeh, Environ. Sci. Technol.
10. K. Karim and S. K. Gupta, Biores. Technol., 80 41 (2007) 7073.
(2001) 179. 24. C. Díaz,a G. Ovejero,a J. L. Sotelo, A.
11. P. K. Asthana and S. Bhatia, Ind. J. Environ. Rodríguez, and J. Garcíaa Proceedings of
Protection, 14 (1994) 490. European Congress of Chemical Engineering
12. G. Bercic and A. Pintar,. Desorption of phenol (ECCE-6) Copenhagen, 16-20 September (2007).
from activated carbon by hot water regeneration, 25. P. Ghosh, S. Biswas and C. Datta, Journal of
desorption isotherms. Industrial Engineering and material science, 24 (1) (1989) 205..
Chemistry Research 35, (1996) 4619.
pdfMachine - is a pdf writer that produces quality PDF files with ease!
Get yours now!
“Thank you very much! I can use Acrobat Distiller or the Acrobat PDFWriter but I consider your
product a lot easier to use and much preferable to Adobe's" [Link] - USA