Removal of phenol from wastewater using activated waste tea leaves

Abstract

This investigation enumerates the treatment of phenol contaminated synthetic wastewater by Activated Waste Tea Leaves (AWTL). Phosphoric acid was used for the modification of waste tea leaves. The effects of initial pH, biosorbent dose, contact time, and initial phenol concentration were studied on the phenol uptake from the synthetic solution. Kinetic modelling was performed using pseudo 1 st and 2 nd order kinetics. The Langmuir and Freundlich’s Models were employed to interpret the AWTL behaviour at various mass transfer gradients. The results show that the optimum values for pH, biosorbent dose and contact time were 2.2 g/L and 180 minutes, respectively. Pseudo 2 nd order kinetic and the Langmuir’s Models best described the kinetic and equilibrium behaviours, respectively.