Adsorption equilibrium and kinetics of copper ions and phenol onto modified adsorbents

The adsorption equilibrium and kinetics of single and binary component copper ions and phenol onto powdered activated carbon (PAC), alginate beads and alginate-activated carbon beads (AAC) were studied. Adsorption equilibrium data for single component copper ions and phenol onto the adsorbents could be represented by the Langmuir equation. Multicomponent equilibrium data were correlated by the extended Langmuir and ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAST). The IAST gave the best fit to our data. The amount of copper ions adsorbed onto the AAC beads in the binary component was greater than that of phenol. The internal diffusion coefficients were determined by comparing the experimental concentration curves with those predicted from surface diffusion and pore diffusion model.