Alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride adsorption mechanism on wood

The adsorption of alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride (ADBAC) on wood was investigated. The changes in zeta potential curves of wood and ADBAC adsorption with increasing ADBAC concentration were highly correlated and showed two different mechanisms for ADBAC adsorption on wood: ion exchange reaction at low concentration and additional aggregation form of adsorption by hydrophobic interaction at high concentration. ADBAC adsorbed at a low solution concentration had high leaching resistance while ADBAC adsorbed into wood at above the critical micelle concentration (CMC) had low leaching resistance. The CMC decreased with addition of Mea, Cu-Mea, and buffer chemicals. The anion, Cl⁻ of ADBAC was only adsorbed at solution concentrations above the CMC and was easily leached out. The adsorption isotherm of ADBAC on wood before and after leaching was fit to the Langmuir, BET, and Freundlich isotherm models; the BET and Freundlich models fit the adsorption isotherm well before leaching and the Langmuir and the Freundlich models showed better fits to the adsorption isotherm after leaching. The adsorption capacity of ADBAC into wood by cation exchange did not achieve the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of wood.