Comparative Study for Phenol Removal from Wastewater by Adsorption and Ion Exchange

Nowadays, most of the wastewater produced as industrial effluent contain constituents
where it needs to be treated prior discharge to environment. One of the constituents is
phenol; an organic compound with the chemical formula C6H50H which is generated in
many of the steel industry's coking facilities as a precursor to many materials and useful
compounds. Phenol can pose a severe health hazard whereupon it can affect the central
nervous system and cause damage to the liver and kidneys. Phenol will stay in the air,
soil, and water for much longer times if a large amount of it is released at one time, or if a
steady amount is released over a long time. In advanced wastewater treatment, many
methods have been applied such as adsorption using activated carbon, ion exchange using
resin, using Fenton reagent and UV light degradation to remove phenol. So, in this
systematic study, two methods have been chosen to be investigated for phenol removal
efficiency, which is adsorption using activated carbon and ion exchange resin. A
modification process is performed to modify the smface of activated chemically using
KOH. The adsorptive capacity between modified activated carbon, non modified
activated carbon and resin then is compared to determine which is better for phenol
removal. From this study, it is proven that the modification on the surface of activated
carbon improves the performance for phenol removal compared to non-modified and
resm.