Removal of mercury (II) from aqueous solution by activated carbon obtained from furfural

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Removal of mercury (II) from aqueous solution by activated carbon obtained from furfural

ARTICLE in CHEMOSPHERE · SEPTEMBER 2003

Impact Factor: 3.34 · DOI: 10.1016/S0045-6535(03)00267-4 · Source: PubMed

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Removal of mercury (II)from aqueous solution by activated carbon obtained from furfural

M.F.Yardim a ,T.Budinova b,*,E.Ekinci a ,N.Petrov b ,

M.Razvigorova b ,V.Minkova b

a

Department of Chemical Engineering,Istanbul Technical University,Ayazaga,Istanbul 80626,Turkey b

Bulgarian Academy of Sciences,Lab.‘‘Chemistry of Solid Fuels’’,Institute of Organic Chemistry,

Acad.G.Bonchev 9Str.,Sofia 1113,Bulgaria Received 26June 2002;received in revised form 11February 2003;accepted 26February 2003

Abstract

The adsorption of Hg(II)from aqueous solution at 293K by activated carbon obtained from furfural is studied.The carbon is prepared by polymerization of furfural following carbonization and activation of the obtained polymer ma-terial with water vapor at 800°C.Adsorption studies of Hg(II)are carried out varying some conditions:treatment time,metal ion concentration,adsorbent amount and pH.It is determined that Hg(II)adsorption follows both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms.The adsorption capacity of the carbon is 174mg/g.It is determined that Hg(II)uptake increases with increasing pH.Desorption studies are performed with hot water.The percent recovery of Hg(II)is 6%.Ó2003Elsevier Science Ltd.All rights reserved.

Keywords:Activated carbon;Furfural;Mercury adsorption

1.Introduction

Water pollution has become a serious problem nowadays.Both the environment and human beings are exposed to hazards of different pollutants (organic pol-lutants,metal ions,etc.)from waste and potable water.The enormous damage caused by water pollution have led to numerous investigations having as their object the protection of the threatened environment and living creatures through new methods.Metals such as Hg,Cd,Ni,As,Pb,etc.have a harmful effect on human physi-ology and other biological systems.Mercury is generally considered to be one of the most toxic metal found in the environment (Clarkson,1992).Once mercury enters to the food chain,large concentrations of mercury com-pounds accumulate in human and animals.Mercury has

adverse effects on the central nervous system,pulmonary and kidney functions,and causes damages to chromo-somes (Berglund and Bertin,1969;WHO,1990).The tolerance limit for Hg(II)discharge into inland surface waters is 10l g/l and in drinking water––1l g/l (Bul-garian Standard Institution,1998).

The major sources of mercury pollution in the aquatic environment are chloralkali,pulp paper,oil re-fining,electrical,rubber processing and fertilizer indus-tries (Baeyens et al.,1996).

Activated carbons are widely used as adsorbents for removing different pollutants from drinking water.The most important specific requirements for activated car-bons in purification techniques are related mainly to the content of inorganic substances.Polymer precursors are especially preferred when carbon with low inorganic impurities is needed.

Many reports have appeared in recent years on the preparation of activated carbons from various cheaper and alternative materials (agricultural by-products

and

Chemosphere 52(2003)

835–841

/locate/chemosphere

*

Corresponding author.Fax:+359-2-70-02-25.

E-mail address:goriva@orgchm.bas.bg (T.Budinova).

0045-6535/03/$-see front matter Ó2003Elsevier Science Ltd.All rights reserved.doi:10.1016/S0045-6535(03)00267-4