Ultrasound-assisted adsorption of 4-dodecylbenzene sulfonate from aqueous solutions by corn cob activated carbon

This study was aimed at removal of 4-dodecylbenzene sulfonate (DBS) ions from aqueous solutions by ultrasound-assisted adsorption onto the carbonized corn cob (AC). The main attention was focused on modeling the equilibrium and kinetics of adsorption of DBS onto the AC. The AC was prepared from ground dried corn cob by carbonization and activation by carbon dioxide at 880 °C for 2 h in a rotary furnace. The adsorption isotherm data were fitted by the Langmuir model in both the absence and the presence of ultrasound (US). The maximum adsorption capacities of the adsorbent for DBS, calculated from the Langmuir isotherms, were 29.41 mg/g and 27.78 mg/g in the presence of US and its absence, respectively. The adsorption process in the absence and the presence of US obeyed the pseudo second-order kinetics. The intraparticular diffusion model indicated that the adsorption of DBS ions on the AC was diffusion controlled as well as that US promoted intraparticular diffusion. The ΔG° values, −24.03 kJ/mol, −25.78 kJ/mol and −27.78 kJ/mol, were negative at all operating temperatures, verifying that the adsorption of DBS ions was spontaneous and thermodynamically favorable. The positive value of ΔS° = 187 J/mol K indicated the increased randomness at the adsorbent–adsorbate interface during the adsorption of DBS ions by the AC.

► Carbonized corn cobs adsorbed 4-dodecylbenzene sulfonate (DBS) from aqueous solutions.
► Ultrasound positively affects the adsorption of DBS on carbonized corn cobs.
► Carbonized corn cobs can be applied for removal of DBS from industrial wastewaters.