Adsorption isotherm, kinetic and mechanism studies of 2-nitrophenol on sedimentary phosphate

<p>Sedimentary phosphate (SP) was used as an adsorbent for the removal of 2-nitrophenol from aqueous solutions in an attempt to investigate (the feasibility of) its application (to) in wastewater purification. The adsorbent was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), IR spectroscopy, Fluorescence X and BET. The results indicated that the SP (was) is francolite (Ca₁₀(PO₄,CO₃)₆F₂) and mesoporous. The effect of the adsorption time and the pH of the solution were studied. The pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order and intraparticle diffusion models were used to fit adsorption data in the kinetic studies. The equilibrium isotherms were determined using the Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich models. The results show that the Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm had better agreement with the 2-nitrophenol adsorption on SP with a correlation coefficient of 0.98, an equilibrium adsorption capacity of 633 mg. g^-1 and a corresponding contact time of 2 h. The results imply that intraparticle diffusion could be summarized as the basic rate-controlling mechanisms during 2-nitrophenol adsorption on SP.