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Adsorption of fluoranthene in surfactant solution on activated carbon: equilibrium, thermodynamic, kinetic studies

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Abstract

Adsorption of fluoranthene (FLA) in surfactant solution on activated carbon (AC) was investigated. Isotherm, thermodynamic, and kinetic attributes of FLA adsorption in the presence of the surfactant on AC were studied. Effects of AC dosage, initial concentration of TX100, initial concentration of FLA, and addition of fulvic acid on adsorption were studied. The experimental data of both TX100 and FLA fitted the Langmuir isotherm model and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model well. Positive enthalpy showed that adsorption of FLA on AC was endothermic. The efficiency of selective FLA removal generally increased with increasing initial surfactant concentration and decreasing fulvic acid concentration. The surface chemistry of AC may determine the removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The adsorption process may be controlled by the hydrophobic interaction between AC and the adsorbate. The microwave irradiation of AC may be a feasible method to reduce the cost of AC through its regeneration.

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Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by Beijing Natural Science Foundation: Mechanisms of selective recovery of surfactant in soil washing solutions with activated carbon (8122027).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory for Water and Sediment Sciences of Ministry of Education, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, People’s Republic of China

    Jianfei Liu, Jiajun Chen & Xingwei Wang

  2. School of Civil Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo, 454003, People’s Republic of China

    Jianfei Liu

  3. Beijing Municipal Research Institute of Environmental Protection, Beijing, 100037, People’s Republic of China

    Lin Jiang

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  1. Jianfei Liu
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  2. Jiajun Chen
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  4. Xingwei Wang
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Correspondence to Jiajun Chen.

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Responsible editor: Angeles Blanco

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Liu, J., Chen, J., Jiang, L. et al. Adsorption of fluoranthene in surfactant solution on activated carbon: equilibrium, thermodynamic, kinetic studies. Environ Sci Pollut Res 21, 1809–1818 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-013-2075-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-013-2075-1

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