Modification of the surface of raw activated carbon using chemical solvents can significantly improve the adsorption performance of activated carbon. Triethylenetetramine is one of the most important chemical solvents used to modify raw activated carbon for formaldehyde removal indoor. We conducted the liquid impregnation experiments at different initial concentrations, temperatures, adsorbent dosage and time ranges to fully investigate the adsorption of triethylenetetramine on the surface of raw activated carbon for modification. We found that the Langmuir isotherm model and pseudo-first-order kinetic model fit quite well with the experimental data and the R2 are 0.9883 and 0.9954, respectively. The theoretical maximum adsorption capacity is 166.67 mg/g. The change in Gibbs free energy (ΔG0), enthalpy change (ΔH0) and entropy change (ΔS0) were also calculated to study the direction and driving force of the liquid adsorption process. In order to understand the adsorption process at the molecular level, a new activated carbon model based on the actual physical and chemical properties of activated carbon was carefully established in the Materials Studio to simulate the liquid-phase adsorption. The pore structure, elemental composition, functional group content, density, pore volume, and porosity of the activated carbon model converge close to the actual activated carbon and the adsorption isotherms obtained from the simulation agree well with the experimental results. The results show that the adsorption of triethylenetetramine on activated carbon is a spontaneous, endothermic and monolayer physical adsorption process.

The present work is aimed at evaluating the kinetics and dynamic adsorption of methylene blue by CO2- activated carbon gels. The carbon gels were characterized by textural properties, thermal degradation and surface chemistry. The result shows that the carbon gels are highly microporous with surface area of 514 m2/g and 745 m2/g for resorcinol-to-catalyst ratios of 1000 (AC1) and 2000 (AC2), respectively. The kinetics data could be described by pseudo-first-order model, with a longer duration to attain equilibrium due to restricted pore diffusion as concentration increases. Also, AC1 exhibits insignificant kinetics with fluctuating adsorption with time at concentrations of 20 and 25 mg/L. However, AC1 reveals a better performance than AC2 in dynamic adsorption due to concentration gradient for molecules diffusion to active sites. The applicability of Yoon–Nelson and Thomas models indicates that the dynamic adsorption is controlled by external and internal diffusion.

In this study, zeolite (Z-C2) was synthesized using a fusion/hydrothermal method on coal fly ash (FA) discharged from a thermal power plant in the Ulsan area and then analyzed via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The Z-C2 was characterized in terms of mineralogical composition and morphological analysis. The XRD results showed that its peaks had the characteristics of Na-A zeolite in the range of 2θ of 7.18~34.18. The SEM images confirmed that the Na-A zeolite crystals had a chamfered-edge crystal structure almost identical to that of the commercial zeolite. The adsorption kinetics of Cu, Co, Mn and Zn ions by Z-C2 were described better by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model more than by the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. The Langmuir model fitted the adsorption isotherm data better than the Freundlich model did. The maximum adsorption capacities of Cu, Co, Mn and Zn ions obtained from the Langmuir model were in the following order : Cu (94.7 mg/g) > Co (77.7 mg/g) > Mn (57.6 mg/g) > Zn (51.1 mg/g). These adsorption capacities are regarded as excellent compared to those of commercial zeolite.

Water vapor adsorption kinetics of vacuum-dried jujube powder were investigated in temperature and relative humidity ranges of 10 to 40℃ and 32 to 75%, respectively. Water vapor was initially adsorbed rapidly and then reached equilibrium condition slowly. Reaction rate constant for water vapor adsorption of vacuum-dried jujube powder increased with an increase in temperature. The temperature dependency of water activity followed the Clausius-Clapeyron equation. The net isosteric heat of sorption increased with an increase in water activity. Good straight lines were obtained with plotting of 1/(m-m0) vs. 1/t. It was found that water vapor adsorption kinetics of vacuum-dried jujube powder was accurately described by a simple empirical model, and temperature dependency of the reaction rate constant followed the Arrhenius-type equation. The activation energy ranged from 50.90 to 56.00 kJ/mol depending on relative humidity. Arrhenius kinetic parameters (Ea and k0) for water vapor adsorption by vacuum-dried jujube powder showed an effect between the parameters with the isokinetic temperature of 302.51 K. The information on water vapor adsorption kinetics of vacuum-dried jujube powder can be used to establish the optimum condition for storage and processing of jujube.

The adsorption characteristics of Sr ions and Cs ions in single and binary solution by zeolite A were investigated in batch experiment. The adsorption rate of Sr ions and Cs ions by zeolite A obeyed pseudo-second-order kinetic model in single and binary solution. The initial adsorption rates (h) and adsorption capacities of both ions obtained from pseudo-second-order kinetic model, and the values were decreased with increasing concentration of the competitive ions (0~1.5 mM). Also, adsorption isotherm data in binary solution were well fitted to the extended Langmuir model, the maximum adsorption capacities of Sr and Cs calculated from the model were 1.78 mmol/g and 1.64 mmol/g, respectively. The adsorption of Sr and Cs ions by zeolite A was carried out in the presence of other cations such as Na+, K+, Mg2+, and Ca2+. The results showed that the zeolite A can maintain a relatively high adsorption capacity for Sr and Cs ions and exhibits a high selectivity in the presence of competitive cations. The effect of competition had an order of Ca2+>K+>Mg2+>Na+ for Sr ions and K+>Ca2+>Na+>Mg2+ for Cs ions at the same cation concentration.

Na-A zeolite (Z-Cl) was synthesized from coal fly ash, which is a byproduct of coal combustion for the generation of electricity. The adsorption of Cu2+ and Zn2+ions onto Z-C1 was investigated via batch tests over a range of temperatures (303.15 to 323.15 K). The resultant experimental equilibrium data were compared to theoretical values calculated using model equations. With these results, the kinetics and equilibrium parameters of adsorption were calculated using Lagergren and Langmuir-Freundlich models. The adsorption kinetics revealed that the pseudo second-order kinetic mechanism is predominant. The maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) values were 139.0-197.9 mg Zn2+/g and 75.0-105.1 mg Cu2+/g. Calculation of the thermodynamic properties revealed that the absorption reactions for both Cu2+and Zn2+ were spontaneous and endothermic. Collectively, these results suggest that the synthesized zeolite, Z-C1, can potentially be used as an adsorbent for metal ion recovery during the treatment of industrial wastewater at high temperatures.

The adsorption performance of cupper and zinc ions(Cu2+ and Zn2+) in aqueous solution was investigated by an adsorption process on reagent grade Na-A zeolite(Z-WK) and Na-A zeolite (Z-C1) prepared from coal fly ash. Z-C1 was synthesized by a fusion method with coal fly ash from a thermal power plant. Batch adsorption experiment with Z-C1 was employed to study the kinetics and equilibrium parameters such as initial metal ions concentration and adsorption time of the solution on the adsorption process. Adsorption rate of metal ions occurred rapidly and adsorption equilibrium reached at less than 120 minutes. The kinetics data of Cu2+ and Zn2+ ions were well fitted by a pseudo-second-order kinetics model more than a pseudo-first-order kinetics model. The equilibrium data were well fitted by a Langmuir model and this result showed Cu2+ and Zn2+ adsorption on Z-C1 would be occupied by a monolayer adsorption. The maximum adsorption capacity(qmax) by the Langmuir model was determined as Cu2+ 99.8 mg/g and Zn2+ 108.3 mg/g, respectively. It appeared that the synthetic zeolite, Z-C1, has potential application as absorbents in metal ion recovery and mining wastewater.

In this research, equilibrium of adsorption and kinetics of As(V) removal were investigated. The coal mine drainage sludge(CMDS) was used as adsorbent. To find out the physical and chemical properties of CMDS, XRD (X-ray diffraction), XRF (X-ray fluorescence spectrometer) analysis were carried out. The CMDS was consist of 70% of goethite and 30% of calcite. From the results, an adsorption mechanism of As(V) with CMDS was dominated by iron oxides. Langmuir adsorption isotherm model was fitted well more than Freundlich isotherm adsorption model. Adsorption capacities of CMDS 1 was not different with CMDS 2 on aspect of amounts of arsenic adsorbed. The maximum adsorption amount of two CMDS were respectively 40.816, 39.682 mg/g. However, the kinetic of two CMDS was different. The kinetic was followed pseudo second order model than pseudo first order model. Concentrations of arsenic in all segments of the polymer in CMDS 2 does not have a constant value, but the rate was greater than the value of CMDS 1. Therefore, CMDS 2, which is containing polymer, is more effective for adsorbent to remove As(V).