Literature Review on Activated Carbon

This assignment requires a literature review on the topic of activated carbon. The student is expected to read and analyze various research papers on the subject, including studies on the adsorption of heavy metal ions, pesticides, and other pollutants using activated carbon. The student must also explore different types of activated carbon, such as those developed from waste rubber tires, fertilizer waste, and bagasse. A detailed analysis of the kinetic and equilibrium studies of simultaneous adsorption of monochlorophenols and chlorophenoxy herbicides on activated carbon is also required. Additionally, the student must discuss the use of activated carbon in removing diethyl phthalate from water solution by adsorption, photo-oxidation, ozonation, and advanced oxidation processes. The assignment aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the properties and applications of activated carbon.

Literature Review
(Civil Engineering)

Table of Contents
Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................1
EVALUATION ...............................................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

Activated Carbon Adsorption For Waste water treatment
Abstract
Adsorption is termed as a process in which a solid is being used for excluding a soluble
substance from the water. Activated carbon is produced effectively. Activated carbon filtration
is considered as a very common technology to be used that is based on the contaminant's
adsorption onto the surface of the filter. This way acts much more effective for excluding some
specific organics such as odours, micro pollutants, fluorine from the water, whether the water is
for drinking purpose or for waste. During the filtration of water, by using activated carbon, the
contaminants sticks to the surface of the granules of carbon or sometimes, become trapped in the
smaller pores of the activated carbon. The process is called adsorption. The main aim of the
review states as the usage of activated carbon includes the treatment principles, preparation of
the activated charcoal, utilization of activated carbon units, combination of activated carbon with
other processes.
INTRODUCTION
Activated carbon is termed as a substance that is being made in such a way that it clears
a large amount of porosity along with an enlarged surface area. During the filtration of water
with the help of activated carbon, the contaminants remains stick to the surface of the granules of
the carbon and sometimes, become trapped also in those small pores. The process is termed as
adsorption. The filters of activated carbon are efficient enough for excluding certain organics
such as odours, micro pollutants etc. It does not act effective for the microbial contaminants,
nitrates, metals and the other inorganic contaminants, nitrates, metals and the other contaminants
that are inorganic.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Factors affecting the performance of activated carbon
According to Ghaedi and et.al., (2014), there are various factors that has an impact on the
overall performance of the activated carbon. These factors can be the molecular weight, its pH
level, the size of the particle, temperature, flow rate etc. These factors can affect nsssegatively as
well as positively. Jribi and et.al, (2014) stated that the adsorption of the activated carbon
becomes more effective when there is an increase in level of the molecular weight. This is
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because the molecules are less soluble in water. Also, the whole infrastructure of the pore of the
carbon molecule should be sufficiently big so that the molecules can be able to indulge within.
As per Jribi and et.al., (2014), most of the organics are less soluble and are more willingly to be
absorbed at a pH level that is lower. As the level of pH increases, its waste material starts
decreasing. For increasing the size of the carbon bed for every pH unit that should be more of the
neutral level, that is 7.0, the thumb rule can be used. The greater the concentration of the
contamination will be, the higher the capacity of the removal of the activated charcoal will be.
The molecule that is contaminant has higher power to be diffused in a pore and get adsorbed.
Increased level of concentration results in effluent leakages. If the concentration of the
contaminant is large, it means it will require more time to contact with the activated carbon. The
presence of hardness in the water enhances the exclusion of the organics. Ghaedi and et.al.,
(2014) stated that the activated carbon is normally available in 8/ 30 mesh, and that is the largest,
the most common is 12/40 mesh and the finest is the 20/50 mesh. The finest mesh provides the
best contact and the best removal as well, but only in the case when there is more pressure in the
drop. The rule of thumb considers that 8/30 mesh gives two to three times efficient removal than
the 12/20 mesh. According to Kuśmierek, Sankowska and Świątkowski, (2014), when the lower
the flow rate will be low, the contaminant will have to consume more time for diffusing in a pore
and get adsorbed. In a longer contact time, adsorption can be improved by the activated carbon.
A carbon bed of 20 out of 50 mesh can be made run on doubling the flow rate of 12 by 40 mesh.
An increase in the pressure drop can be analysed while considering the higher flow rates with
finer mesh carbons. As per Ghaedi and et.al., (2014), higher temperature of the water minimizes
the viscosity of the solution and can maximize the diffusion rate of the die, thus increasing the
rate of adsorption. Generally, the higher temperature can also distorts the bond that is
adsorptive and smoothly minimizes the rate of adsorption. It however depends on the excluded
organic compounds but normally, the lower temperature rate favours adsorption.
Several uses of activated charcoal
According to Jribi and et.al., (2014), the activated charcoal can be used for the water
purification, airborne pollution and in various medical uses as well. From the purified systems at
home to the filtered pitchers to some types of water treatment plans, it is being used for filtering
out the sediments, heavier metals and other waste excreta that no body want in their drinking
glasses. In hard liquors as well such as vodka etc. are filtered out of the impurities by the help of
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these activated charcoal membranes during the process of production. As per Kuśmierek,
Sankowska and Świątkowski, (2014), the activated carbon also affects the airborne pollution
levels. Varnishes, paints and the other petroleum based products always emit some gases that
includes harmful and violating organic compounds. By the help of using activated carbon in an
air purifier, many of these gases can be captured. The same method is done in case of power
plants and industrial emissions. Cleaning of the groundwater and the spills can be considered as
other two uses. Gupta and et.al., (2013) stated that the activated carbon is also equally important
in medical uses. Here, it again comes under the non controversial category involving the health
care. When taken in use administrated orally, activated charcoal can be used as a emergency
medicine which can act as effective at reducing the effect of some poisons and also, in case of
overdosing. This is because of the property of bounded carbons and the capability of absorbing
the toxins within its hollowed out network. In some cases, the doctors also are required to
monitor and administer multiple doses for it to be beneficial, but it only helps in certain types of
poisons.
Activated Carbon Adsorption for waste water treatment
According to Kuśmierek, Sankowska and Świątkowski, (2014), an important feature of
activated carbon adsorption is its higher usage and its day by day increasing consumption in the
process of purification of industrial and domestic waste water. As per Gupta and et.al., (2013),
there have been more than 900 chemical compounds, both organic and inorganic which have
been determined in the surface and ground water. Most of these are carcinogenic compounds
and cause some other harmful elements too. Various methods can be used in the treatment of
water such as coagulation, oxidation, activated carbon adsorption, aeration etc. Out of all these
methods, activated carbon adsorption has been considered as the most suitable method. The
parameters are the acidic carbon oxygen surface groups that are present on the carbon surface
and pH of the solutions, which influences and determines the adsorption of inorganic compounds
from the aqueous solutions. Both of these properties specifies the concentration and nature of the
molecular species and ionic species present in the solution. According to Kuśmierek, Sankowska
and Świątkowski, (2014), extent and nature of the carbon surface charge can be changed by
modifying the pH level of the carbon solution system. Thus, the metal ions adsorption demands
of the interactions that are electrostatic attractive within the metal ionic species that are present
in the solution with the negative parts on the carbon surface. As per Gupta and et.al., (2013), the
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process of adsorption for organic compounds is somewhere different. The compounds that are
already present in water and are organic can act polar as well as non-polar so that the dispersive
interactions as well as the electrostatic interactions should be sufficiently able to play their role.
The structure of the carbon surface is porous and it involves the presence of mesopores which is
an important factor in the whole process of adsorption of molecules, although most of the focus
is on the non-polar organic molecules.
As per the view of Balsamo and et.al, (2013), activated carbon can be used into several
ways for the purification process such as, powered and granular. The filtration process is based
on the concept of Van der Waal force. The untreated water is consisting of various impurities.
The high absorption capacity of carbon attracts all the impurities present into the water, in the
process impurity acts like induced dipoles and get attracted towards the surface of activated
carbon. Ghaedi and et.al., (2014), stated that water treatment plant develop huge tank like
structure, for holding large amount of water and partition them into three levels, such as zone 1,
2 and 3, on the basis of their process. The water flows toward zone 1 to 3 , during this procedure
tank 1 consists of highly impure water, on the other hand 3rd tank holds least impure water. There
are various steps are available for implementing effective activated carbon adsorption for waste
water treatment. Some of them are like carbonization, chemical activation, and adsorption of
organic contaminant and determination of COD. During the purification process activated carbon
molecules combined with various elements and holding impurities at different level of the
process.
As per the view of González and Pliego-Cuervo, (2014), 1st tank consists of large
graduals of activated carbon and impure water, as the impureness of water decreases size of the
granules also get reduced and in the third tank turn into powered form. According to Gupta and
et.al., (2013), for filtration process granular carbons are more effective as compare to the
powered, as the surface area of granules are higher as compare to the power, due to which it is
able to absorb more amount of induced dipoles and hold them for longer time. Along with the
purification process, water treatment plants consider them for various other process, such as
odours absorptions and air purification process. It absorbs harmful rays present into the water
such as UV, and increases their quality. Therefore, most of the water treatment plants has
replaced chlorine and other chemical purification products with activated carbon. It helps in
preventing and controlling release of smell into the air and polluting the environment.
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As per the view of Jribi and et.al., (2014), the life of activated carbon can be extended by
purifying them. In this process impure or absorbed carbon is passed through the pure water, due
to their process their pores get clean and able to effectively hold impurities again. It is considered
as biggest trade of this product. Kuśmierek, Sankowska and Świątkowski, (2014), stated that
service life of activated carbon is very effective, it can absorb large amount of impurities into
their pores such as odour, taste and chemical components up to six months to 1 year without any
cleaning process. Along with this able to provide effective services for continuously five years.
EVALUATION
On the basis of various research it is evaluated that activated carbon is one of the most
effective chemical component. It is having different chemical structure due to which, it is able to
hole impurities for longer time. According to Liu and et.al., (2013), these are several elements
identified that are affecting their performance. Some of them are like processing temperature,
acidity of water, flow speed, etc. These factors are creating negative impact through creating
diffusion of structure and increasing viscosity due to this absorption process of the activated
carbon slows down. Therefore, while implementing water treatment plants speed and
temperature of water should be maintained. It helps in maintaining the absorption capacity of
activated carbon.
As per the view of Ma and et.al., (2017), activated carbon is used into various process,
due to high absorption and holding capacity such as for water treatment plants, air pollution
controlling process, retaining moistures into the companies. One of the most crucial use can be
identified in medical and healthcare industry. With the help of activated carbon poison is
absorbed from the body of the individual. Hence, activated carbon is able to play various roles
effectively, due to which most of the industries are considering it.
As mentioned by the researcher Medellin-Castillo and et.al., (2013), most of the water
treatment plants are switched to activated carbon as the treatment element. With the help of this
product they are able to treat large amount of pure water at lower rate. Along with this it
produces effective quality of water at small duration of time. In this process granular and
powdered activated carbons are used into the treatment process, along with this it can be reused
through simple purification process. Along with ionic impurities, it is able to hold odour, taste
and harmful UV rays present into the water. Therefore, role of activated carbon particle is
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significant into the treatment of waste water and maintaining quality of water. According to the
research Prola and et.al., (2013), service life of chemical component is very long as compare to
other carbon products. It is able to provide effective services up to 5 years continuously. It can be
reused through considering simple purification steps. In this process various other methods are
also identified that helps in increasing effectiveness of treatment process. Some of them are like
carbonization, chemical activation, adsorption of organic contaminant and determination of COD
(Research philosophy, 2016). Carbon particles are integrated with other elements, due to which
their holding capacity can be maximised. While conducting literature review, there are certain
area are identified that are not included into the process such as purification process of the
activated carbon due to which research gap can be created. In order to reuse and purify it again
not effective methods and strategies are developed, due to which amount of activated carbon is
decreasing. In order to maintain process of water treatment plant smooth, purification system is
essential. It can affect the quality of the research and strategies based on the outcomes.
CONCLUSION
On the basis of above literature review it is inferred that, activated carbon particles plays
significant role into the water treatment plants. There are various sectors that are considering it
such as medical and healthcare, chemical, etc. For removing impurities present into the water can
be removed with the help of this chemical substances. All the process of water treatment plant is
based on Van der Waal force, due to this principle they are able to absorb huge amount of
impurities on their surface. In order to increase the water treatment processing speed, granular
activated carbon particles are used as compare to power. It is creating positive impact on the
environment by absorbing odour and harmful UV rays and providing pure and fresh air. Along
with this they have long services life due treatment plants need to spend low amount on the
maintenance process.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Ali, I. and Gupta, V.K., 2016. Advances in water treatment by adsorption technology. Nature
protocols. 1(6). p.2661.
Balsamo, M. and et.al, 2013. CO 2 adsorption onto synthetic activated carbon: kinetic,
thermodynamic and regeneration studies. Separation and Purification Technology.116.
pp.214-221.
Bhatnagar, A. And et.al.,2013. An overview of the modification methods of activated carbon for
its water treatment applications. Chemical Engineering Journal. 219. pp.499-511.
Dias, J. M., Alvim-Ferraz, M.C., Almeida, M.F., Rivera-Utrilla, J. and Sánchez-Polo, M., 2007.
Waste materials for activated carbon preparation and its use in aqueous-phase treatment:
a review. Journal of Environmental Management. 85(4). pp.833-846.
Ghaedi, M. and et.al., 2014. Removal of malachite green from aqueous solution by zinc oxide
nanoparticle loaded on activated carbon: kinetics and isotherm study. Journal of
Industrial and Engineering Chemistry.20(1). pp.17-28.
González, P. G. and Pliego-Cuervo, Y. B., 2014. Adsorption of Cd (II), Hg (II) and Zn (II) from
aqueous solution using mesoporous activated carbon produced from Bambusa vulgaris
striata. Chemical Engineering Research and Design.92(11). pp.2715-2724.
Goyal, M. and Bhagat, M., 2012. Activated Carbon Adsorption for Waste Water
Treatment. Application of Adsorbents for Water Pollution Control, p.3.
Gupta, V. K. And et.al., 2011. A comparative investigation on adsorption performances of
mesoporous activated carbon prepared from waste rubber tire and activated carbon for a
hazardous azo dye—Acid Blue 113. Journal of Hazardous Materials. 186(1). pp.891-
901.
Gupta, V. K. and et.al., 2013. Chromium removal from water by activated carbon developed
from waste rubber tires. Environmental Science and Pollution Research.20(3). pp.1261-
1268.
Gupta, V. K. and et.al.,2014. Design parameters for fixed bed reactors of activated carbon
developed from fertilizer waste for the removal of some heavy metal ions. Waste
management. 17(8). pp.517-522.
Gupta, V.K. and et.al., 2011. Pesticides removal from waste water by activated carbon prepared
from waste rubber tire. Water Research. 45(13). pp.4047-4055.
Jribi, S., and et.al., 2014. Modeling and simulation of an activated carbon–CO 2 four bed based
adsorption cooling system. Energy conversion and management.78. pp.985-991.
Kuśmierek, K., Sankowska, M. and Świątkowski, A., 2014. Kinetic and equilibrium studies of
simultaneous adsorption of monochlorophenols and chlorophenoxy herbicides on
activated carbon. Desalination and Water Treatment.52(1-3). pp.178-183.
Liu, J. and et.al., 2013. Phosphate adsorption on hydroxyl–iron–lanthanum doped activated
carbon fiber. Chemical Engineering Journal. 215. pp.859-867.
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Ma, H. and et.al., 2017. Adsorption Removal of Inhibiting Compounds by Modified Activated
Carbon. Journal of Energy and Natural Resources.6(2). p.24.
Medellin-Castillo, N. A. and et.al., 2013. Removal of diethyl phthalate from water solution by
adsorption, photo-oxidation, ozonation and advanced oxidation process (UV/H 2 O 2, O
3/H 2 O 2 and O 3/activated carbon). Science of the total environment. 442. pp.26-35.
Mohan, D. and Singh, K. P., 2012. Single-and multi-component adsorption of cadmium and zinc
using activated carbon derived from bagasse—an agricultural waste. Water
research. 36(9). pp.2304-2318.
Monser, L. and Adhoum, N., 2012. Modified activated carbon for the removal of copper, zinc,
chromium and cyanide from wastewater. Separation and purification technology. 26(2).
pp.137-146.
Prola, L. D. and et.al., 2013. Adsorption of Direct Blue 53 dye from aqueous solutions by multi-
walled carbon nanotubes and activated carbon. Journal of environmental
management. 130. pp.166-175.
Rengaraj, S. And et.al.2012. Agricultural solid waste for the removal of organics: adsorption of
phenol from water and wastewater by palm seed coat activated carbon. Waste
Management. 22(5). pp. 543-548.
Online
Research philosophy. 2016. [Online]. Available through:
<http://research-methodology.net/research-philosophy/>. [Accessed on 24th May 2016].
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