The Kinetics and Thermodynamics of the Interaction between Phenol and Granular Activated Carbon Prepared from Waste Coconut Shell

Trinidad and Tobago (TT) is a highly industrialized an oil and gas based economy. Within recent times there has been serious health, safety and environmental concerns with regards to the level of the chemical contaminant phenol present in “produced” water generated within the oil and gas sector. Globally, the technique of Activated Carbon Adsorption of the phenolic compounds has proven to be a very successful however its utilization in TT has challenges as the material is expensive and has to be imported and this issue is further compounded due to a scarcity of US foreign exchange in TT in recent times. In an effort to develop an innovative solution to the problem, the possibility of converting coconut shell, a locally abundant waste material, to produce a microporous activated carbon is being explored. Success of this initiative will also provide an environmentally sustainable method for the disposal of large quantities of waste coconut shell which is also posing disposal challenges in TT at this time. The ultimate goal of successfully designing an adsorption column using microporous activated carbon produced locally entails producing the activated carbon, ensuring that its physical characteristics are within specifications and most importantly elucidating the thermodynamic and kinetic parameters as it relates to phenol adsorption after which the adsorption unit can be designed. Preliminary results have shown that the coconut shell is a good precursor and the optimum conditions for its production is being optimized. Work investigating the kinetic and thermodynamic models for adsorption is in progress and information derived will be used for the design of an adsorption unit.