Enhancing Phenol Removal from Wastewater through Activated Carbon and Response Surface Methodology (RSM) Optimization

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the optimization of removal of phenol from wastewater with activated carbon (AC) and Response Surface Methodology (RSM). Phenol can be removed from wastewater using peanut shell based activated carbon (PSAC) and coconut shell based activated carbon (CSAC). The focus was on determining the best conditions for each carbon type to get the highest phenol removal efficiency. Contact time, pH and initial phenol concentration were all adjusted systematically to determine their effect on the removal process. The research found that for PSAC, an increase in the initial concentration of phenol from 10 to 70 ppm, a decrease in pH from 10 to 4, and an extended contact time from 10 to 120 minutes significantly enhanced phenol removal, achieving an increase in efficiency from 30.2% to 61.9%. In contrast, CSAC exhibited varying performance, with the lowest removal efficiency of 36% occurring at a contact time of 10 minutes and a pH greater than 8.5. However, the highest adsorption rates for CSAC, reaching 99.2%, 98.7%, and 97%, were observed at a pH of 4 and a contact time of 120 minutes. These findings show the crucial role of operational parameters in the efficacy of phenol removal using different activated carbons.