Efficiency of Bentonite Clay and Charcoal Filtering PAHs

Adam Konarik* and Cameron French

Chem 112 Section 562
Abstract: In this experiment, modified bentonite clay and charcoal were used to adsorb colored
water that emulates PAHs found in the environment. To determine which compound would
adsorb more, spectrometers were used to calculate the concentration of color (PAH) that was left
in the solutions. It was concluded, by making a calibration curve that the charcoal proved to
adsorb more.

Introduction: A PAH stands for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and they are extremely harmful
to the environment, thus there is a need for it to be filtered out of the water2. The PAHs can
damage skin, bodily fluids, and the immune system1. The bentonite clay and charcoal are both
known to adsorb PAHs, so this experiment was used to determine if the modified bentonite clay
could be a good alternative to charcoal since it costs so much less to produce. To determine if
the modified clay would be a good alternative, a spectrometer is used to test the concentration of
dye left in the solution after the clay has adsorbed it. This data could then be compared to the
data of the charcoal.

Materials and Methods: Firstly, the magnetized bentonite clay must be made. 250mL of distilled
water should be put into a 600mL beaker and heated to 70C. A 125mL Erlenmeyer flask should
then be filled with 40mL of distilled water and placed into the 600mL heated beaker. Next add
.78g of FeCl3 and .39g of FeSO47H2O to the flask. The mixture was swirled until no solids
remained in the solution. After the solids dissolved .2986g of Bentonite was added to the flask.
Swirl this solution around until no solids remain also. Next add 20mL of 2.5M NaOH to the
solution by individual drops. The solution will produce a black magnetic precipitate. The
solution was then allowed to cool. Once cooled the solution was transferred into centrifuge tubes
and centrifuged for 5-10 minutes at 4000rpm. After the tubes were taken out the supernatant was
disposed of. The rest of the solution was put into the same centrifuge tubes and centrifuged
again for 5-10 minutes at 4000rpm. The tubes were taken out and the supernatant was disposed
of again. Then about 10mL of distilled water was added to the same centrifuge tubes and
shaken. The tubes were then centrifuged again for 5-10 minutes at 4000rpm for a final time.

* - Primary Author
The supernatant was then disposed of for the third time and the remaining clay was scraped into
a beaker.
Secondly, the stock solution of Procion Red MX-5B .05mM was gathered into a cuvette
and tested for the absorbance at the max. The max was roughly determined to be 538 +/- 3nm by
referencing appendix 2 in the lab manual3. Further testing was done to achieve a more accurate
max.
Next the three dilutions of the Procion Red MX-5B .05mM need to be made. To make
the dilutions, 5mL of the stock solution, 100%, should be put into a 10mL volumetric flask with
5mL of distilled water. This is the first dilution at 50% and .025mM. 5mL of it should be
transferred to another volumetric flask while the other 5mL should be saved and poured into a
cuvette. The 5mL of the first dilution should then be mixed with 5mL of distilled water in the
volumetric flask. This is the second dilution at 25% and .0125mM. 5mL of it should also be
transferred to another volumetric flask while the other 5mL also be saved and put into another
cuvette. To make the third dilution, mix another 5mL of distilled water with the 5mL of the
previous dilution in the volumetric flask. This is the third dilution at 12.5% and .00625mM. The
dilution should also be transferred into a cuvette. The three dilutions should then be put into the
spectrometer to be tested at the max to acquire their absorbance. This data will be used to make
a calibration curve.
Next two 30mL beakers of the stock Procion Red MX-5B, .2617g of charcoal, and
.2525g of clay were used. The charcoal and clay are grinded up and put into separate 30mL
beakers of Procion Red MX-5B. The solutions were stirred until no solids remained. The
solutions were poured in centrifuge tubes and allowed to centrifuge for 5-10 minutes at 4000rpm.
The liquid that remained was then filtered two times to remove the rest of the clay and charcoal.
The solutions were then poured into cuvettes and tested at the max for their absorbance. The
amount of dye removed by using the clay and charcoal was then determined through the
calibration curve.

* - Primary Author
Results and Discussion: The calibration curve (below) was made by using the concentration and
absorbance of the three dilutions and the stock Procion Red. The calibration curve was used to
determine the concentrations of the Procion Red dye after the clay and charcoal had adsorbed
some of it.

max = 532.7 nm

General data from the clay and charcoal are displayed below.
Clay Data Charcoal Data
Mass .2525g Mass .2617g
Absorbance at max .4642 Absorbance at max .3087
Volume used 30mL Volume used 30mL

The concentrations and mol/g of dye removed are shown in the chart below. The Mol/g dye
removed was found by subtracting the initial and final molarity of dye left in the solution. Then
the amount of moles removed was found by multiplying by the volume used. After the amounts
of moles were found, the moles were divided by the mass in grams used of either the clay or
charcoal. The chart shows that the charcoal adsorbs more dye overall than the clay did.

* - Primary Author
Compound Initial moles of dye Final moles of dye Dye Removed
Charcoal .00005M .00002358mM .000003029 Mol/g
Clay .00005M .00003545mM .000001729 Mol/g
The charcoal and clay were compared in the experiment by testing how much dye each
compound could remove. In the experiment the charcoal proved to be the better compound.
Another way these two compounds could be compared is by the way these two compounds can
be removed from the water in the real world. When the charcoal is used to adsorb the PAHs,
the water can be filtered to remove the charcoal. When the clay is used, it is a very fine powder
and hard to filter; however, it can be magnetized to assist in the removal of the clay. It does help
remove the clay, but it also could affect its ability to adsorb the PAHs. A third parameter that
can be used is the availability and cost of the two substances. The clay is widely available and
cheap to produce in the U.S3. The charcoal on the other hand is more expensive to use.
The Procion Red MX-5B is a good model for a PAH. It is a good model because the
Procion Red has a similar structure to those of other PAHs. The clay is able to adsorb the
PAHs through intercalation, where the clay adheres to the PAHs in between the clays
alternating layers. The PAHs and similar Procion Red structures suggest that the two
compounds both participate in intercalation.
There could have been several sources of error in this experiment. A source of error in
this experiment could have come from not filtering all the charcoal/clay out of the solution. This
could have caused that absorbance reading to be inaccurate. Another source of error could have
came from not properly setting up the spectrometer, for example not putting a blank in before
taking data. When measuring the mass of the clay/charcoal, the weigh boat could have been
counted in the mass of the clay/charcoal and been given an inaccurate mass.

Conclusion: This experiment was used to test and determine whether the clay could be a suitable
alternative to clay to the charcoal for filtering the PAHs in the water. The clay is a cheaper
material than the charcoal to produce so it would be ideal to be able to use the clay; however, the
clay is a very fine powder that is hard to filter, thus it must be made magnetized. The
magnetized clay is tested to see whether or not magnetizing it will incapacitate some of its
adsorbing abilities. The experiment was a success and proved that charcoal will adsorb more of
the dye than the magnetized clay.

* - Primary Author
 References
1. "A-Z Index." ATSDR. N.p., Sept. 1996. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.
2. Brown, Coree, Elizabeth Cruz, Maria Guerrero, Collin Krauthamer, and Rita Rocha.
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the Soil. Rep. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.
3. Leung, Tak Wai, Eds., ed. General Chemistry of the Texas Environment. 4th ed.
Plymouth: Hayden-McNeil, 2015. Print.

* - Primary Author