Sulfide Adsorption on Modified Activated Carbon: Performance and Kinetics

Abstract

The investigation of sulfide adsorption in the aqueous phase has been undertaken in response to a growing emphasis on the environment. This research aimed to investigate the adsorption of sulfide on activated carbon derived from the KOH activated on apricot kernel shells. The prepared activated carbons were analyzed using a nitrogen adsorption analyzer, scanning electron microscopy, and the point of zero charges. The nitrogen sorption isotherm demonstrated a microporous structure inside the adsorbent. The adsorption behavior of different adsorbents, including plain and modified activated carbon, found that the modified activated carbon performed significantly better than that of plain activated carbon. The maximum removal was 37.7% on the modified activated carbon at the initial concentration of 50 mg g^-1 after 600 min of adsorption at 30 °C. Adsorption kinetics demonstrated a good fit between the Langmuir isotherm on plain activated carbon and the Freundlich isotherm on modified activated carbon to describe the experimental data.