Activated carbon from local oak shells: synthesis, characterisation, and application for Cr (VI) adsorption in the fixed bed column: Experimental and modelling

ABSTRACT

In this work, the separation of Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions in batch and column processes using activated carbon adsorbent synthesised from oak shells has been investigated. In the batch adsorption process, the effects of three operating parameters of initial pH, contact time and initial Cr(VI) concentration were studied to reach the optimal conditions. The Langmuir adsorption capacity of prepared carbon was 97.087 mg Cr g⁻¹. Also, in the fixed bed adsorption column, the factors of input concentration and volumetric flow rate were investigated to study the effect of these factors on the separation performance of activated carbon adsorbent. The results show the agreement of experimental data in the fixed bed adsorption column system with the Thomas model. In addition, adsorption/desorption three cycles were studied to evaluate the ability of activated carbon adsorbent to remove Cr(VI). Results showed that the t_0.05(min) and q_tot(mg) have been decreased by about 50.32% and 28.57%, respectively, after three cycles.

KEYWORDS:

• Oak shell
• activated carbon
• adsorption
• column
• modelling
• Cr(VI)

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).