University of Jordan

Faculty of Engineering & Technology

Department of Chemical Engineering
Chemical Engineering Laboratory (3)

Title of Experiment:
Adsorption of dye solutions by activated carbon
Experiment number:
7
:Report Type
Short Report

:Done by

Instructor:
Dr. Ahmad Abo-Yaghe

Date of performing Experiment:

19/10/2014
Date of Submitting report:
26/10/2014
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT....................................................................
...... ii

1.0
INTRODUCTION ...........................................................
..1

2.0
OBJECTIVES ................................................................
....3

3.0 RESULTS ..3

4.0 DISCUSSION OF
RESULTS............................................7

5.0
CONCLUSIONS................8

6.0
RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................
8

7.0
REFERENCES ..............................................................
....9
 8.0 APPENDICES ..10
8.1 Sample of calculations...10
8.2
Nomenclature...12
8.3 Data
sheet...13

ABSTRACT:
i

This experiment is about adsorption of dye solution in an activated carbon,

including the study of the effect of activated carbon different weights, with constant
speed motor agitator in the adsorption of dye solution.
In different times, sample of dye solution with activated carbon was taken and
measured the transmittance in a spectrophotometer, then by using calibration curve,
change this value of transmittance to concentration of dye solution.
Finally, the calculation was done and plotted to the equilibrium isotherm curve to
get the Freundlich isotherm and the equation constants.
ii
1.0 INTRODUCTION

Adsorption is a process that takes place when a liquid or, most commonly, a gas
(adsorbate) accumulates on the surface of a solid (adsorbent), forming a molecular or
atomic film.

Figure 1: adsorption process

In chemistry, an adsorbate is a material or substance that is capable of being

adhered to or absorbed on a surface of an absorbent. The quantity of adsorbate adsorbed
depends on several factors: adsorbent type, adsorbate type, adsorbent size, adsorbate
concentration, and temperature.
 Adsorbents are natural or synthetic materials of amorphous or microcrystalline
structure. Activated carbon, silica gel, and activated alumina are common
examples of adsorbent.

Most adsorbents are highly porous materials, and adsorption takes place
primarily on the walls of the pores or at specific sites inside the particle. Because the
pores are generally very small, the internal surface area is orders of magnitude greater
than the external area and is often 500 to1000 m 2/g. separation occurs because
differences molecular weight, shape, or polarity cause some molecules to be held more
strongly on the surface than others or because the pores are too small to admit the large
molecules. In many cases, the adsorbing component (or adsorbate) is held strongly
enough to permit complete removal of that component from the fluid with very little
adsorption of other components. Regeneration of the adsorbent can then be carried out to
obtain the adsorbate in concentrated or nearly pure form.

Applications of vapor-phase adsorption include the recovery of organic solvents

used in paints, printing inks, and solutions for film casting or fabric coating. The solvent
laden air may first be sent to a water-cooled or refrigerated condenser to collect some of
the solvent, but it is generally impractical to cool the gas far below ambient temperature
in an attempt to eliminate solvent losses.

Drying of gases is often carried out by adsorbing the water on silica gel, alumina,
or other inorganic porous solids. The zeolites, or molecular sieves, which are natural or
synthetic aluminosilicates with a very regular, fine pore structure, are especially effective
in preparing gases with low dew points (-75oC).

Adsorption from the liquid phase is used to remove organic components from
drinking water or aqueous wastes, colored impurities from sugar solutions and vegetable 1
oils, and water from organic liquids. Adsorption can also be used to recover reaction
products that are not easily separated by distillation or crystallization. Some of the types
of solids are used for both vapor-phase and liquid-phase adsorption, though often
adsorbents with larger pores are preferred for use with liquids.

We consider only gas-solid and liquid-solid interfaces, with solute distributed

selectively between the fluid and solid phases. The accumulation per unit surface area is
small; thus, highly porous solids with very large internal area per unit volume are
preferred. Adsorbent surfaces are often physically or chemically heterogeneous, and
bonding energies may vary widely from one site to another. We seek to promote physical
adsorption or physisorption, which involves van der Waals forces (as in vapor
condensation), and retard chemical adsorption or chemisorption, which involves
chemical bonding (and often dissociation, as in catalysis). The former is well suited for a
regenerable process, while the latter generally destroys the capacity of the adsorbent.

2
 Activated carbon is a very porous adsorbent with a
carbon backbone but a number of other species such as
oxides of carbon on the surface. Since activated carbon is
inexpensive, strongly adsorbs organic Compounds, and has
a large number of applications, it is the most commonly
used adsorbent. It is produced by carbonizing a material Figure 2: Activated
such as wood, coke, or coconut shells. Activation is typically done with carbon
carbon dioxide or steam to create the porous structure and to oxidize
the surface.

Carbons are produced for both liquid and gas separations.

Because the starting
Materials and the chemical treatments vary; different activated
carbons can have very different properties.

Because activated carbon has essentially a nonpolar surface,

water is absorbed weakly, often by capillary condensation in gas
systems. Thus, many organic compounds are much more strongly
adsorbed than water. This makes activated carbon the usual adsorbent
of choice for processing aqueous solutions and humid gases.

Activated carbon is commonly used for pollution control to

remove organic compounds from water and is also frequently used to
adsorb small amounts of organics from gases, process sugar, purify
alcohol, provide personal protection as part of the complex mixture of
adsorbents included in gas masks, and many other applications.

This report talk about adsorption of dye solution on activated carbon

when the speed motor agitators was constant in the value =304 rpm and difference
value of weight of activated carbon.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this experiment is to produce concentration-time
curve for the adsorption process of dye solution by activated carbon.
In addition, investigate the effect of initial dye concentration and the
speed of agitation on the concentration time curve, and to construct
the equilibrium isotherms for the adsorption of solvent on adsorbent.
 RESULTS 3.0

Tables

Time(min. 2g Activated carbon 4g Activated carbon 6g Activated carbon

) Cf(ppm) Cf/Co Cf(ppm) Cf/Co Cf(ppm) Cf/Co
1 12.1106 0.8650 12.1106 0.8650 12.1106 0.8650
2 12.1087 0.8649 12.1069 0.8648 12.1069 0.8648
3 12.1069 0.8648 12.1041 0.8646 12.1041 0.8646
4 12.1069 0.8648 12.1032 0.8645 12.1013 0.8644
6 12.1050 0.8646 12.1023 0.8644 12.0977 0.8641
9 12.1032 0.8645 12.0903 0.8636 12.0847 0.8632
15 12.0995 0.8642 12.0737 0.8624 12.0663 0.8619
25 12.0903 0.8636 12.0589 0.8614 12.0202 0.8586
35 12.0811 0.8629 12.0350 0.8596 11.9925 0.8566
49 12.0737 0.8624 12.0147 0.8582 11.9723 0.8552
64 12.0571 0.8612 11.9981 0.8570 11.9667 0.8548
80 12.0479 0.8606 11.9870 0.8562 11.9575 0.8541

Table (1): Dye concentration versus time at different masses of activated carbon .

Wt C* log V(L
Co C * V (Co C * ) log(V (Co C * ))
(g) (ppm) (C*) solution
/g
(ppm) (mg dye /g
3 carbon)
carbon)
-
0.00 0.844
1 0.143 7 0.0001 14.857 0.001486 -3.34384
-
0.00 0.290
2 0.5118 9 0.0002 14.4882 0.002898 -3.02549
-
0.00 0.157
4 0.6962 3 0.0004 14.3038 0.005722 -2.64689
0.00 0.156
8 1.4338 5 0.0008 13.5662 0.010853 -2.23379
0.01 0.463
2 2.909 7 0.0012 12.091 0.014509 -1.92614
0.01 3.4622 0.539 0.0016 11.5378 0.01846 -1.76245
6 4
0.623
0.02 4.1998 2 0.002 10.8002 0.0216 -1.63685
0.709
0.03 5.1218 4 0.003 9.8782 0.029635 -1.44042
0.819
0.04 6.597 3 0.004 8.403 0.033612 -1.26548
0.971
0.08 9.363 4 0.008 5.637 0.045096 -0.9704
10.100 1.004
0.1 6 3 0.01 4.8994 0.048994 -0.83899
1.049
0.15 11.207 5 0.015 3.793 0.056895 -0.65198

Table (2): Equilibrium isotherms for the adsorption of dye by the activated carbon

Figures:

Figure3. Calibration curve of transmittance versus concentration of dye solution.

4
 0.87
0.86
f(x) = - 0x + 0.86
0.86
0.86
0.86
Cf/C0 0.86
0.85
0.85
0.85
0.85
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

time (min)

Figure 4: Concentration time curves for the adsorption process of dye solution by
activated carbon at 2g.

0.87
0.86
f(x) = - 0x + 0.86
0.86
0.86
0.86
Cf/C0 0.86
0.85
0.85
0.85
0.85
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

time (min)

Figure 5: Concentration time curves for the adsorption process of dye solution by
activated carbon at 4g.

5
 0.87
0.86
f(x) = - 0x + 0.86
0.86
0.86
0.86
Cf/C0 0.86
0.85
0.85
0.85
0.85
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

time (min)

Figure 6:Concentration time curves for the adsorption process of dye solution by
activated carbon at 6g.

0.06

0.05 f(x) = 0x + 0

0.04

V* (C0- C* ) 0.03

0.02

0.01

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Equilibrium concentration of dye (ppm)

Figure7: Freundlich equilibrim isotherm.

6
 0
-1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5
-0.5

-1
f(x) = 1.43x - 2.41
-1.5

log( V (C0- C*) -2

-2.5

-3

-3.5

-4

log (C*)

Figure8: Freundlich equilibrim constants.

DISCUSSION OF RESULTS 4.0

- Adsorption is a separation process used in solid/liquid system to
purify the solution from solid particles by an adsorbent makes
contact with the solid and then it extracted with it.
- Adsorbent should be with high capacity which means to collect
as much as it can from solute and very selective where its
attractive forces with the solute is greater than its contact with
solvent or the adsorbent itself.
- Adsorbent is preferable to be not toxic and can be regenerated
to minimize the cost of adsorption process by using the same
adsorbent many times and mechanically strong especially when
agitation of the mixture is involved.
- The experiment is a batch adsorption of dye using activated
carbon is physical adsorption where no reaction happens
between the adsorbent and the solute so the solute is extracted
as it is (no change in its properties) where the forces of
attraction is very weak as Vander walls forces but if the
adsorption is chemical so the solute will be extracted as a new
compound where the forces of attraction is very strong as
London's forces.
- The adsorbent is connected to the solute due to the forces of
attraction where the solute molecules goes to surface and
connected with adsorbent until equilibrium happens where no
 net change of the concentration of solute on the surface of
adsorbent.
- In the experiment the concentration of dye was measured at
different times using the spectrophotometer which gives the
transmittance which converted to concentration.
- The effect of amount of activated carbon is investigated and it is
clear that as its increases the concentration of solute in the
solution decreases and become more pure.
- If the relation between the concentrations of solute on the
surface of adsorbent versus the concentration of solute in the 7
solution is linear then Freundlich equation is applied.

mass of solute
Loading (W )
mass of adsorbent

W KC n
Where loading in Freundlich equation is:

Where K, n are Freundlich equation constant which obtained from

drawing the isotherm which represents the equilibrium and n= 0.8448,
K=0.0068.

5.0 CONCLUSION
- Adsorption process is an application of mass transfer
where the solute which could be liquid or gas moves
toward the adsorbent.
- Adsorption process is affected by the amount of
adsorbent.
- Increasing the amount of adsorbent makes the rate of
solute diffusion to the surface of adsorbent increases.
- Freundlich equation gives an indication when equilibrium
happens where at that point adsorption process finished
so a new amount of adsorbent is added or the same
adsorbent is regenerated.
- Freundlich equation is an empirical equation applied for a
very dilute solution and its very good estimation if the
constant of Freundlich isotherm (n) is within the range of
0-2.
 - As adsorption process precedes the concentration of dye
decreases and the solution becomes much purified.

6.0 RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Studying the effect of temperature, the solvent, and the
type of adsorbent and adsorbate.
2. Ensuring fixed temperature to get an equilibrium
isotherm.

7.0 REFERENCES

8
- Christie J.Geankoplis, "Transport Processes and Unit
Operations", Third Edition, Prentice Hall PTR, 1993.

- McCabe & Smith & Harriot, "Unit operations of Chemical

Engineering ", McGraw Hill 7th Edition, 2005.

- Robert H. Perry, "Perry's Chemical Engineers'

HANDBOOK", Sixth Edition, McGraw-Hill, 1984.

- Coulson & Richardson, "Chemical Engineering "Vol. 2,

BUTTERWORTH HEINEMANN, 5th Edition, 2002.

- Lab Sheet.
 8.0 APPENDICES
Sample of calculations 8.1
9

Calibration curve:

The initial concentration of dye is 15ppm which diluted using

different volumes of water to get different concentration then
its transmittance values is obtained:

M 1 V1 M 2 V2 M 1 15 ppm,V1 50ml,V2 100ml

M 1 V1 15 50
M2 7.5 ppm
V2 100

Its transmittance value is 27%, so the point (.27, 7.5ppm) is

plotted to get the calibration curve which equation is:

Y (Concentration ) .1844 X (Transmit tan ce) 12.129

Effect of the amount of adsorbent on the adsorption

process:

Three beakers contain same concentration of dye 15ppm and

different amount of activated carbon (2,4,6)g, at different time
samples of the dye solution is taken to measure the
transmittance value which transform to concentration using
the calibration curve:
m 2 g , t 2 min utes, C initial 15 ppm
transmit tan ce C F .1844 .65 12.129 12.1087 ppm
CF 12.1087
0.80724
C initial 15
m 4 g , t 2 min utes, C initial 15 ppm
transmit tan ce C F .1844 .68 12.129 12.1069 ppm
CF 12.1069
0.80712
C initial 15
m 6 g , t 2 min utes, C initial 15 ppm
transmit tan ce C F .1844 .71 12.129 12.1069 ppm
CF 12.1069
0.80712
C initial 15

Effect of the speed of agitation on the adsorption

process:
10
Three beakers contain same concentration of dye and 4g of
adsorbent (activated carbon) but the agitation speeds are
(250,450,550) rpm, at different time samples of the dye
solution is taken to measure the transmittance value which
transform to concentration using the calibration curve:

v 250rpm, t 2 min utes, Cinitial 15 ppm

transmit tan ce 65% C F .1844 .65 12.129 12.0091 ppm
CF 12.0091
.8006
Cinitial 15
v 450rpm, t 2 min utes, Cinitial 15 ppm
transmit tan ce 68% C F 12.0036 ppm
CF 12.0036
.80024
Cinitial 15
v 550rpm, t 2 min utes, Cinitial 15 ppm
transmit tan ce 70% C F 11.9999 ppm
CF 11.9999
.8
Cinitial 15

Equilibrium isotherms for the adsorption of dye by

activated carbon:
 W KC n
Freundlich isotherm:

log W log( K ) n log( C )

Weight of carbon =.15Transmittance = 5%

From Fig.3:

C * .1844 12.129 11.207 ppm

log( C * ) log( 11.207) 1.0495
Volume of solution 10ml
V 66.67 ml / g .067 L / g
Mass of activated carbon .15 g
L mg dye
W V (C0 C * ) .067 15 11.207 .254131mg dye/ g Carbon
g Carbon L

log V (C0 C * ) log(. 254131) .595

log V (C0 C * ) log( C * )
Plot versus ; a straight line is obtained with:

Slope n .8448
Intercept log( K ) 2.1675 K 6.8 10 3

Nomenclature 8.2
11

- (Co-C*): apparent adsorption per unit mass of adsorbent.

(mg(dye)/g (carbon))
- Cf : Concentration at any time (ppm)
- C*: equilibrium concentration at any time.(ppm)
- K,n: Freandlich constants.(-)
- Co: Initial dye concentration. (ppm)
- : Volume of solution/Mass of carbon (L/g)

12