RESUMO
The purpose of this research is to investigate the ability of peanut shell activated carbon (PSAC) to adsorb phenol from aqueous solutions. Phenolic wastewater in various industries and their release to the environment are environmental problems. Among the various separation methods, adsorption is an accepted method because of its efficiency, simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and possibility to use different adsorbent materials to achieve maximum adsorption efficiency. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to minimize the required experiments, modeling, finding the optimal point, and variance analysis. Among the studied variables, pH, adsorbent dosage, and initial concentration are important. The results show that it is possible to completely remove at 300 ppm of phenol concentration and 5 min. Characterization of PSAC was done using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectrum (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET), and size analysis. By examining the isotherm models, it was found that the adsorption follows the Langmuir model. The maximum adsorption capacity was 250 mg g-1 based on the Langmuir model. The three combined features of complete removal, ultra-fast adsorption, and high adsorption capacity are the unique features of this nano biocarbon for phenol removal.
