Adsorption and Desorption Behavior of Tannic Acid in Aqueous Solution on Polyaniline Adsorbent

Tannic acid is generally considered as one of polyphenolic pollutants, which may cause severe threats to the environment. In this study, polyaniline adsorbent was synthesized by chemical oxidation to remove tannic acid in aqueous solutions. The adsorption amount of tannic acid varied greatly with pH of solution and strong adsorption was at pH 5.8–6.7. Coexisting cations, such as Na+, K+, and Ca2+, can enhance the adsorption of tannic acid on polyaniline, which may be contributed to the electrostatic interaction between tannic acid and polyaniline. The adsorption process could be well described by Langmuir model and the maximum adsorption capacity was 117.65 mg·g−1 at 35 °C and pH 6.0. The thermodynamic parameters calculated from the adsorption isotherms indicate that the adsorption of tannic acid is spontaneous and endothermic process. The polyaniline saturated with tannic acid can be desorbed in alkaline solution and regenerated adsorbent can be used repeatedly with high adsorption capacity, which implies that polyaniline adsorbents have a great potential in water purification for the removal of tannic acid.