Abstract
The contamination of water by organic pollutants viz. phenolic compounds (phenol, 2-chlorophenol (2-CPh) and 4-chlorophenol (4-CPh)) is a worldwide environmental problem due to their highly toxic nature. The use of non-living Schizophyllum commune fungus (S. commune fungus) to remove phenol, 2-CPh and 4-CPh from water under equilibrium and column flow experimental conditions was evaluated. The resulting biosorbent was characterized by BET surface area analysis, Fourier transformer infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. The effect of experimental parameters such as effect of pH, contact time, initial concentration of adsorbate and amount of biosorbent dosage was evaluated. The experimental data were fitted to various isotherm models. The maximum monolayer adsorption capacity of S. commune fungus for phenol, 2-CPh and 4-CPh was found to be 120, 178 and 244 mg/g, respectively, at 25 +/- 2 degrees C according to Langmuir model. The equilibrium time was found to be 2 h for all adsorbates to complete saturation. Kinetic studies showed the adsorption process followed pseudo second-order kinetic model. The column regeneration studies were carried out for three adsorption-desorption cycles. The eluant used for the regeneration of the adsorbent was 0.1 M NaOH. Based on the results obtained such as good uptake capacity, rapid kinetics, and its low cost, S. commune fungus appears to be a promising biosorbent material for the removal of phenolic compounds from aqueous media. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.