Modification and Optimization of Activated Carbons for Phenolic Compounds Removal

Abstract

Phenols are generally considered to be one of the important organic pollutants discharged into the environment causing unpleasant taste and odour of drinking water. Development of inexpensive adsorbents from industrial wastes for the treatment of wastewaters is an important area in environmental sciences. For the phenolic compounds removal, it appears that the pH of the solution, the real surface area of the solid, and functional groups play a major role. The objective of this study was to screen various adsorbents for potential application for the removal of phenolic compounds for drinking water concentration range. The adsorbents used in this study were AC prepared from recycled PET and AC prepared from cork submitted to a reduction post treatment.