Zinc chloride activated coir pith carbon as low cost adsorbent for removal of 2,4-dichlorophenol: Equilibrium and kinetic studies

Activated carbon prepared from coir pith (ZnCPC) using ZnCl2 was investigated to find the feasibility of its application for removal of 2,4–dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) in aqueous solution through adsorption process. Batch mode kinetics and isotherm studies were carried out to evaluate the effects of contact time, initial concentration, adsorbent dose, pH, and temperature. Lagergren, Second order, and Banghams were used to fit the experimental data. Langmuir, Freundlich, Dubinin–Radushkevich and Temkin isotherm models have been employed to analyse the adsorption equilibrium data. The Langmuir adsorption capacity, Qo, was found to be 131.6 mg/g of the adsorbent. The pH effect and desorption studies showed that ion exchange mechanism was involved in the adsorption process. Adsorption of 2,4-DCP by ZnCPC was spontaneous. The results indicated that ZnCPC was an effective adsorbent for removing 2,4-DCP from water.