Benzene removal by nano magnetic particles under continuous condition from aqueous solutions

Abstract

Benzene removal from aqueous solutions was evaluated using Fe₃O₄ nano magnetic particles (NM) in continuous condition. A 4⁴ factorial design including initial benzene concentration, NM dose, contact time and pH was investigated in 16 experiments (Taguchi OA design). The results indicated that all factors were significant and the optimum condition was: pH 8, NM dose of 2000 mg·L^-1, benzene concentrations of 100 mg·L^-1 and contact time of 14 min. The maximum benzene uptake and distribution ratio in the optimum situation were 49.4 mg·g^-1 and 38.4 L·g^-1, respectively. The nano particles were shown to capture 98.7% of the benzene in optimum batch condition and 94.5% in continuous condition. The isotherm data proved that the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller model fit more closely and produced an isotherm constant (b) less than one, indicating favorable adsorption. Regeneration studies verified that the benzene adsorbed by the NM could be easily desorbed by temperature, and thereby, NM can be employed repeatedly in water and wastewater management.

Keywords

benzene, experimental design, Fe₃O₄ / continues condition, thermal recycling

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Acknowledgements

This article was the result of PhD dissertation approved by the Isfahan University of Medical Sciences (IUMS). The authors wish to acknowledge to Vice Chancellor of Research at IUMS for the financial support Research Project # 389065.

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2014 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg