ADSORPTION PERFORMANCE OF FIXED-BED COLUMNS FOR THE REMOVAL OF PHENOL USING BAOBAB FRUIT SHELL BASED ACTIVATED CARBON

A continuous adsorption study in a fixed-bed column using baobab fruit shell activated carbon (BF-AC) was investigated for phenol removal from an aqueous solution. Baobab fruit shell (BFS) was chemically activated using potassium hydroxide (KOH) at 700 °C in a nitrogen (N2) atmosphere. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and BET surface area analyses were performed for the characterization of BF-AC. Fixed-bed experiments were carried out and the effect of feed flowrate (10, 15, 20 mL/min) and bed height (5, 10, 15 cm) on the adsorption were investigated by evaluating the breakthrough curves. BET surface area of BF-AC was 1263 m2/g, indicating its well-developed pores and its good quality as an adsorbent. The findings showed that the exhaustion time (t????) and breakthrough time (tb) reduced as the flowrate augmented, while they increased as the bed height augmented. With the increase in the bed height and the flowrate, phenol solution volume treated was augmented. Also, BF-AC with bed height of 15 cm provided better elimination of phenol with carbon usage rate (CUR) of 1.74 g/L and empty bed contact time (EBCT) of 9.9 minutes. According to the findings, BF-AC is an effective adsorbent for removing phenol from aqueous solutions. ABSTRAK: Kajian penjerapan berterusan menggunakan kulit buah baobab diaktifkan karbon (BF-AC) telah dikaji mengguna pakai kolum lapisan tetap bagi penyingkiran fenol daripada larutan cecair. Kulit buah Baobab (BFS) diaktifkan secara kimia menggunakan kalium hidroksida (KOH) pada suhu 700 °C dalam atmosfera nitrogen (N2). Imbasan mikroskop elektron (SEM), pembelahan sinar-X (XRD, dan analisis permukaan BET dijalankan bagi pencirian BF-AC. Eksperimen kolum lapisan tetap bagi mengkaji kesan penjerapan pada aliran suapan (10, 15, 20 mL/min) dengan ketinggian (5, 10, 15 cm) dinilai melalui lengkung bulus. Kawasan permukaan BET BF-AC adalah 1263 m2/g, menunjukkan liang yang elok terbentuk dan berkualiti baik sebagai penyerap. Penemuan ini menunjukkan bahawa puncak masa maksima (t????) dan masa terbaik (tb) berkurangan pada kadar aliran bertambah, sebaliknya ianya meningkat pada ketinggian bertambah. Dengan penambahan ketinggian katil dan kadar aliran, jumlah larutan fenol yang dirawat telah bertambah. Selain itu, BF-AC pada ketinggian 15 cm menunjukkan penghapusan fenol terbaik pada kadar penggunaan karbon (CUR) 1.74 g/L dan masa sentuhan kolum kosong (EBCT) 9.9 minit. Ini menunjukkan, BF-AC adalah penyerap yang berkesan bagi menyingkirkan fenol daripada larutan cecair.