Modification and Optimization of Activated Carbons for Phenolic

Abstract

Phenolic compounds are generally considered to be one of the important organic pollutants discharged into the environment causing unpleasant taste and odour of drinking water [1,2]. So, removal of phenolics compounds from industrial effluents is required before sewage disposal. The 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. Adsorption onto activated carbons (AC) is often considered, amongst the methods currently employed to remove inorganic and organic pollutants, from aqueous or gaseous phases, as the most efficient and one of the most economical. A detailed characterization of physical and chemical surface properties of an AC has become one of the most important issues in adsorption technology because it ascertain its suitability for one or more of the application fields.