Abstract
A Lakhra coal sample (Sindh province) was treated with various leachants like NaOH, and HCl in order to generate porosity for effective adsorption of environmentally objectionable phenol. The study was performed in a column. The eluates from the column were studied using UV–VIS spectrophotometer. From the spectra obtained, it is noticed that NaOH-treated coal proved best-suited for phenol adsorption compared to other treated coal samples. Adsorption of phenol using NaOH-treated coal samples was minimal, and adsorption capacity of the samples decreased when phenol concentration was increased beyond a certain limit.