Removal of p-aminophenol and p-nitrophenol from aqueous solution through adsorption on bismuth,lead, and manganese ferrocyanides and their relevance to environmental issues

Removal of p-aminophenol (PAP) and p-nitrophenol (PNP) from aqueous solution have been studied through adsorption on bismuth, lead and manganese ferrocyanides (125 μm British Sieve Standard mesh size) at pH range 1.0–10.0 and room temperature (27 ± 1°C). The progress of adsorption was followed spectrophotometrically by measuring the absorbance of PAP and PNP solutions at their corresponding λ_max = 220 and 330 nm, respectively. At neutral pH, PNP was found to more adsorbed than PAP on all three metal ferrocyanides studied. Manganese ferrocyanide and bismuth ferrocyanide were found to have maximum and minimum adsorption, respectively for both adsorbents. The adsorption followed the Langmuir type of adsorption in the concentration range of 10^?4 to 10^?5 mol/L of PAP and PNP solutions.