PHENOL REMOVAL CHARACTERISTIC OF NEWLY SYNTHESIZED MICROPOROUS GEL BEADS WITH CATIONIC SURFACE CHARGE

摘要

In this study a new sorbent for phenol removal was developed. As a starting material for sorbent synthesis, hydro-philic, spherical and reactive gel beads were first produced in the form of poly(3-chloro-2-hydroxylpropyl methacrylate-co-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate), poly(HPMA-Cl-co-EDM) copolymer via suspension polymerization. Quaternary ammonium functionalized gel beads were obtained by treating the plain gel beads with triethylamine (TEA). The developed material was then first tried as an anion exchanger type sorbent for phenol removal. The sorption properties of TEA attached poly(HPMA-Cl-co-EDM) beads were investigated in batch mode. It was observed that the equilibrium adsorption capacity of gel beads decreased from 17 to 12 mg g-1 beads while changing pH from 2 to 10. According to isotherm studies it was observed that the equilibrium adsorption capacity of gel beads particles remained between 20-25 mg g-1 beads. The results showed that the adsorption isotherm could be adequately described by Freundlich model. Elution studies indicated that desorp-tion is possible at pH 10 using NaCl. The maximum de-sorption yield obtained following adsorption with an initial phenol concentration of 2000 mg L-1 is 74 % w/w. The results indicated that the newly proposed material, TEA attached poly(HPMA-Cl-co-EDM) gel beads is a promising sorbent for phenol removal in aqueous media.