ABSTARCT

Phenolic compounds have been found to be the primary pollutants in wastewaters, the petroleum industry has served as a major contributor to the pool. In this study,, the removal of phenol by adsorption using rice husk  (RH) as the primary adsorbent was investigated by experimentation in a batch reactor. Approximately 120 million tones of RH is being produced every year as a by-product of rice paddy cultivation and their disposal is still regarded as a colossal task, the reaction parameters such as pH residence time and temperature  were analysed for their effects on the removal  of phenol by adsorption  using RH in a batch reator. A mathematical model was formulated by grouping parameter affecting the adsorption and was found consistent with earlier models put forth for different adsorbents. The adsorption tendency was found to decrease with an increase in pH of the solution. There was an observable increase in the removal efficiency of phenol with an increase  in the residence time, the phenol  adsorption data was found to follow the Langmuir isotherm in the range studied.

KEYWORDS: ADSORPTION PHENOL,REMOVEL,RICE HUSK, MATHEMATICAL MODEL.