Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
151613 Chemical Engineering Journal 2011 5 Pages PDF
Abstract

In view of serious water contamination threats posed by the ever-increasing usage of automobile fuels, the present study explores the potential of a commercially available hydrophobic nano-silica (Aersosil R 812) for the treatment of water contaminated with the gasoline and diesel using the process of adsorption. Owing to its nanometeic dimension, nano-silica Aerosil R 812 offers large surface area (260 m2/g) that translates into a higher uptake of gasoline and diesel as compared to other adsorbents reported in the literature with a removal efficiency found to be high as 99% and 97%, respectively, at pH 7. Both kinetic as well as equilibrium studies are carried out here, and the data thus obtained are processed in conjunction with appropriate models to obtain relevant parameters. Moreover, unlike porous-matrix based adsorbents, the nano-silica does not suffer from the pore filling and blockage problem, and therefore shows great promise towards the development of cost-effective water-treatment technology.

Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Chemical Engineering Chemical Engineering (General)
Authors
, , ,