ADSORPTION OF NAPHTHALENE BY CARBON MESOPOROUS (CMK-3) FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS

In this study, mesoporous carbon CMK-3 has been prepared by Hexagonal mesoporous silica SBA-15 and was utilized as an applicable adsorbent of poly aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The structural and textural properties of the synthesized materials have also been characterized by Small Angle X-ray Diffraction (SAXRD), Raman Spectroscopy, X-ray Photo-electron Spectroscopy (XPS), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Nitrogen adsorption–desorption analysis.

All the runs were carried out in a slurry system at ambient pressure and temperature. The adsorption capability of naphthalene on CMK-3 has been evaluated by varying initial concentration of naphthalene and solution pH. The maximum adsorption capacity of naphthalene on CMK-3 was calculated to be 160 mg g-1. The results also showed that adsorption capacity became notably greater with an increase in contact time. Moreover, the adsorption capacity enhances from 54 to 161 mg/g in effect of initial naphthalene concentration increasing from 5 to 30 ppm.

Another important finding was that adsorption processes and equilibrium data well fitted by pseudo-second-order kinetic (R2 =0.9999), followed by intra-particle diffusion model and Freundlich adsorption models (R2 =0.9936).