Organoclays as Sorbent Material for Phenolic Compounds: A Review

The quest for new adsorbing material directed several scientists for more efficient sorbent material for environmental remediation. Natural materials such as clays are good sorbents for many contaminants in soil and water; due to their availability, low cost, environmental stability and high adsorptive, and ion exchange properties. Clay materials can potentially be modified by introducing long or short chain organic compounds to achieve the desired surface properties for best immobilization of hydrophobic compounds. Modified clays obtained are called organoclays and have been proven effective for remediation of many contaminants in soil and water such as phenols and its derivatives. This paper will highlight the synthesis, mechanism of sorption, isotherm models, and the applications of organoclays as potential sorbents for the environmental remediation of phenol and its derivatives. By looking at all the above as well as the detailed literature survey, we conclude that organoclays are cost effective sorbent material that have a high removal potential for phenol and its derivatives from water and wastewater.