Analysis of Mass Transfer Resistance for Adsorption of Phosphate onto Industrial Waste Materials in Plug-flow column

¹ Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia
² Faculty of Engineering Technology, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia

^* Corresponding author: mhairulk@gmail.com

Abstract

The understanding resistance of mass transfer for adsorption of phosphate (PO₄^3-) onto industrial waste such as clay brick and ceramic as an adsorbent is important to verify. This study presented the removal of (PO₄^3-) from a synthetic solution by adsorbing onto the clay brick and ceramic wastes in a plug flow column (PFC). The experimental results showed that increasing the flow rate was decreases the breakthrough time. The mass transfer factor (MTF) models were used to study the behaviours of breakthrough curve and to determine the resistance of mass transfer. The MTF models verified that the resistance of mass transfer could be dependent on porous diffusion until the percentage of outflow reaches 72% for clay brick waste and 86% for ceramic waste, even though film mass transfer can play a minor role in controlling the movement of (PO₄^3-) from the bulk water to film zone. The results of MTF models coefficient could be indicated to increase the capacity of clay brick and ceramic wastes to adsorb (PO₄^3-) from synthetic solution, it needs to develop the porosity of these adsorbents by either physical or chemical modification.