Removal of phenol from aqueous solutions using nano chitosan

Abstract

Phenol is one of the hydrocarbons identified as a priority pollutant by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Phenol and its derivatives have wide applications in a variety of industries including paint, pesticides, and plastic & resin manufacturing industries; pharmacy; petroleum refining; petrochemical industries; coal mining; steel, aluminum, and lead industries; detergents; synthetic fabrics; and leather manufacturing. Accordingly, phenol is known as an important pollutant in industrial wastewater. As conventional phenol removal methods are often expensive, there is a need for a low cost and environmentally friendly method to remove this pollutant. The purpose of this study is to examine the removal of phenol from aqueous solutions using chitosan nanoparticles. The present study investigated the effect of different parameters such as pH, phenol concentration, adsorbent content, contact time and temperature. Phenol concentration was measured using UV / Vis spectrophotometer and standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. The results of the experiments indicated that phenol adsorption capacity has a direct relationship with increased phenol concentration, decreased dose of adsorbent, and increased temperature to a certain extent, and an inverse relationship with increased pH and contact time. According to the findings, due to their considerable characteristics such as degradability, regeneration ability, cheapness, and acceptable adsorption efficiency, chitosan nanoparticles could be used to remove phenol from water contaminated with oil compounds.