Removal of phenol from wastewater by carbon sorbents at mining enterprises and coke plants

The removal of carbon from wastewater by means of carbon adsorbents is experimentally studied. The kinetics of phenol adsorption from aqueous solutions simulating its content in industrial wastewater at mining enterprises and coke plants is investigated. The kinetic curves of phenol adsorption on AG-OV-1 and ABG active carbon differ from the classic form. The time to attain equilibrium in the phenol–water–sorbent system varies in the range 30–60 min. The adsorption process is found to be limited by external diffusion. The external diffusion coefficients are calculated. On the basis of the external mass-transfer coefficients, we may expect high phenol extraction from wastewater at moderate filtration rates through the dense immobile sorbent layer.