Desorption by ultrasound: Phenol on activated carbon and polymeric resin
An experimental feasibility study of using ultrasound to accomplish the dificult desorption of phenol from activated carbon and polymeric resin adsorbents is discussed. The desorption rates of activated carbon were found to significantly increase by ultrasound at 40 kHz and 1.44 MHz. Attrition of the activated carbon due to cavitation could be prevented by operating at a higher frequency and with an intensity below the threshold of the pulverization of carbon. According to the structural stability study of Amberlite XAD-4 and Dowex Optipore L-493 resins to withstand the abrasive cavitational effects of ultrasound at 40 kHz, the Dowex Optipore resin was stable under experimental conditions and phenol desorption rates were enhanced significantly with sonication. The ultrasonic desorption rates were favored by decreased temperature, aerated liquid medium, and increased ultrasound intensity. The desorption rates obtained without ultrasound appeared to be limited by pore diffusion, whereas those obtained in the presence of ultrasound were limited by surface reaction. The rate enhancement was due to an increase in diffusive transport within the pores caused by acoustic vortex microstreaming. The activation energy for desorption decreased with an increase in ultrasonic power density, thus making the ultrasound weaken the adsorption bond.
Influence of ultrasound on adsorption processes.
One of the most popular means for removal of organic water pollutants found in small concentrations is by adsorption. An important step in adsorption processes is the regeneration of the adsorbent as it does not only affect the adsorption-desorption cycle but also the expenses of the following process steps. State of the art regeneration of adsorbent resins is done by chemical methods. These require the use of organic solvents or inorganic chemicals and involve a difficult secondary separation step. Therefore, industry seeks for alternative methods to regenerate exhausted adsorbents. One of the discussed regeneration methods is desorption by ultrasound. Ultrasound does not only promote desorption but also enhances the mass transfer of sorption processes. We discuss the arising problems and basic effects when applying ultrasound during sorption processes in order to show the potentials of this desorption process. The focus is laid in particular on the influence of ultrasound frequency and intensity.
Distribution of hydrophobic ionogenic organic compounds between octanol and water: organic acids
The octanol-water distributions of 10 environmentally significant organic acid compounds were determined as a function of aqueous-phase salt concentration (0.05-0.2 M LiCl, NaCl, KCl, CaCl{sub 2}, or MgCl{sub 2}) and pH. The compounds were pentachlorophenol, 2,3,4,5-tetrachlorophenol, (2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy)acetic acid, 4-chloro-{alpha}-(4-chlorophenyl)benzeneacetic acid, 2-methyl-4,6-dinitrophenol, (2,4-dichlorophenoxy) acetic acid, 4-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy) butanoic acid, 3,6-dichloro-2-methoxybenzoic acid, 2,3,6-trichlorobenzeneacetic acid, and 2-(2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy)propionic acid. The experimental results were interpreted quantitatively with an equilibrium model that accounts for acid dissociation in the aqueous phase and partitioning into the octanol phase by the neutral organic species, free inorganic and organic ions, and ion pairs. The partition constants for the neutral ion pairs correlate well with the partition constants of the neutral acids. Two experiments address the applicability of these octanol-water distribution data to the distribution of ionogenic compounds in the environment: the distribution of 2-methyl-4,6-dinitrophenol on a natural sorbent as a function of salt concentration (NaCl and CaCl{sub 2}) and pH, and competitive adsorption of pentachlorophenol and 2,3,4,5-tetrachlorophenol on an environmental sorbent.