Adsorption of Bisphenol A Using Dried Rice Husk: Equilibrium, Kinetic and Thermodynamic Studies

The adsorption of bisphenol A from an aqueous solution onto dried rice husk was investigated. Batch adsorption experiments were performed as a function of the pH, contact time, bisphenol A concentration, adsorbent dose and temperature. The concentration of Bisphenol A was measured by HPLC. The results showed that bisphenol A removal was highest at a solution pH value of 3, adsorbent dose of 4 g/L, and contact time of 75 min. The bisphenol A removal percentage decreased from 99.1 to 66.7%, when the bisphenol A concentration increased from 10 to 200 mg/L. The Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second order kinetics provided the best fit for the experimental data. Thermodynamic parameters such as Delta G(0), Delta H-0 and Delta S-0 were also evaluated and it was found that the sorption process was feasible, spontaneous and exothermic in nature. Overall, the studied absorbent can be used as an effective and low cost material to treat the industrial wastewater and aqueous solution containing phenolic compounds.