OPTIMIZATION OF ADSORPTION PARAMETERS FOR EFFECTIVE REMOVAL OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS FROM WATER USING METAL-ORGANIC FRAMEWORKS UIO-66(Zr) AND MIL-88(Fe)

Adsorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) namely anthracene (ANT), chrysene (CRY) and pyrene (PYR) from water using UiO-66(Zr) and MIL-88(Fe) metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) has been focused of this research. The MOFs were synthesized according to solvothermal techniques and characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and nitrogen adsorption-desorption measurements. Experimental design and validation of the adsorption studies were performed by response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN) modeling respectively