Meta-Xylene Removal from Aqueous Solution Using Surfactant-Modified Bentonite: A Kinetic View

Abstract

The bentonite used was a natural calcium bentonite from Enugu State, Nigeria. This was treated with Na2CO3 by ion exchange method to form a sodium bentonite described as unmodified bentonite (UB). Unmodified bentonite was treated with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) to produce a modified bentonite (MB). The performance of unmodified bentonite (UB) and modified bentonite (MB) were evaluated for the sorption of meta-xylene from aqueous solution. The resultant materials were characterized using kinetic model equations. The optimum contact time for the adsorption of meta-xylene was 120 minutes with a maximum percentage removal of 96.82 % for the modified adsorbent. Pseudo-second order equation gave the best correlation coefficient value (R2) of 0.999 for the adsorption of meta-xylene on the modified bentonite (MB). These results obtained confirmed the efficiency and effectiveness of modified bentonite in the removal of petroleum wastes.