Optimum isotherm equation and thermodynamic interpretation for aqueous 1,1,2-trichloroethene adsorption isotherms on three adsorbents

Aqueous 1,1,2-trichloroethene (TCE) adsorption isotherms were obtained on Ambersorb^1® 563 and 572 adsorbents and Filtrasorb^2® 400 granular activated carbon (GAC). The data for Ambersorb 563 adsorbent covers TCE concentrations from 0.0009 to 600 mg/L. The data for each adsorbent was fit to 15 isotherm equations to determine an optimum equation.The best equation for the TCE adsorption isotherms is the Dubinin-Astakov (DA) isotherm. The DA isotherm coefficients were used to estimate the TCE micropore volume and the adsorption potential distribution. For each adsorbent, the TCE micropore volume is equivalent to the N₂ porosimetry micropore volume. The mean adsorption potential is 18.8, 13.0, and 8.9 kJ/mol, with coefficients of variation of 0.37, 0.53, and 0.67, for Ambersorb 563 and 572 adsorbents and Filtrasorb 400 GAC, respectively. Thus, Ambersorb 563 adsorbent has the most energetic and most homogeneous adsorption volume, while Filtrasorb 400 GAC has the least energetic and most heterogeneous adsorption volume. For these reasons, Ambersorb 563 adsorbent has the highest TCE capacity at low concentrations, whereas Filtrasorb 400 GAC has the highest TCE capacity at high concentrations. The performance of Ambersorb 572 adsorbent is generally intermediate to the other two adsorbents.