Separation and Purification Technology 26 (2002) 295– 304

www.elsevier.com/locate/seppur

Synthesis and characterization of activated carbon and

bioactive adsorbent produced from paper mill sludge
N.R. Khalili a,*, J.D. Vyas a, W. Weangkaew a, S.J. Westfall a, S.J. Parulekar a,
R. Sherwood b
a
Department of Chemical and En6ironmental Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, 10 W. 33rd Street, Chicago,
IL 60616, USA
b
IIT Research Institute, 10 W. 35th Street, Chicago, IL 60616, USA

Received 9 March 2001; received in revised form 15 August 2001; accepted 22 August 2001

Abstract

Adsorption capacity and bioactivity of a novel mesoporous activated carbon (IIT Carbon) and bioactive (BACIIT)
catalyst produced from papermill sludge were evaluated. Conversion of paper mill sludge to useful activated carbons
and biocatalysts is a significant process since it reduces environmental problems associated with disposal of waste
sludge, enhances wastewater treatment using carbons produced from industrial waste itself, and promotes conserva-
tion of the naturally available primary resources currently used to make activated carbons. Analysis was conducted
using synthetic wastewater containing phenol and a commercially available activated carbon, sorbonorite 4 (used as
reference carbon). Phenol removal was accomplished in batch and fluidized bed reactors containing mesoporous
activated carbon, sorbonorite 4, and the produced bioactive catalysts. Isotherm adsorption data indicated that
mesoporous activated carbon has a higher adsorption capacity and molecular surface coverage than sorbonorite 4 for
phenol concentrations less than 10 mg/l. The mass transfer limitation was accounted for the lower adsorption capacity
of the microporous carbon (sorbonorite 4) in dilute solutions. The fluidized bed reactor study, however, indicated
similar but slightly lower phenol removal capability for the produced mesoporous carbon. While phenol removal
efficiency of the carbons studied was in the range 65–70%, the produced bioactive catalysts were able to remove up
to 97% of phenol during first few hours of operation. These results suggest that mesoporous carbon will feasibly be
a good substitute for other commercially available activated carbons produced from natural resources, not only in
physical adsorption processes, but also in fluidized bed bioreactors (FBB), used in biodegradation processes. © 2002
Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Activated carbon; Phenol; Biocatalyst; Paper mill sludge

1. Introduction

* Corresponding author. Tel.: + 1-312-567-3534; fax: +1-

The application of commercial activated carbon
312-567-8874. (AC) has been proven extensively for the removal
E-mail address: khalili@iit.edu (N.R. Khalili). of dissolved organics from wastewater. Activated

1383-5866/02/$ - see front matter © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 1 3 8 3 - 5 8 6 6 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 1 8 4 - 8
296 N.R. Khalili et al. / Separation/Purification Technology 26 (2002) 295–304
carbon is known to be a superior adsorbent and
catalytic support because of its excellent surface
properties, i.e. large surface area, porous structure
and high degree of surface reactivity. Recent stud-
ies have shown that ACs can be used successfully
in solvent recovery, gas refining, air purification,
exhaust desulfurization and deodorization pro-
cesses [1–4].
In the early seventies, some studies reported
that proliferated bacteria in AC filters could be
responsible for the extended removal of organics
from wastewater. Therefore, it was suggested that
biological elimination of dissolved organic com-
pounds within activated carbon particles could
enhance the extent of organic removal by simple
adsorption process [5– 7].
The mechanics of organic removal by biodegra-
dation-adsorption processes on activated carbon
was further investigated using fixed and fluidized
bed bioreactors (FBB) [8– 11]. The recent review
by Sutton and Mishra [8] showed that over 80
commercial media-based FBBs have been in-
stalled in North America and Europe. Due to the
environmental importance of this application, a
variety of organizations such as US EPA, na-
tional laboratories and non-profit research institu-
tions have extensively focused on research and
development activities involving AC-based FBB
systems. The single largest commercial application
for these is the aerobic treatment of groundwater
contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons.
These studies have shown that fluidized bed
reactors are very efficient in terms of volumetric
degradation capacity. Tang et al. [9,12] demon-
strated the efficient use of the three-phase
fluidized bed bioreactor in the organic (phenol)
removal process. Their study also showed that
although the adsorptive capacity of ACs could
decrease with repeated usage in FBB systems,
these systems are still preferable over simple ad-
sorption processes because the thermal regenera-
tion of activated carbons in conventional
adsorption systems is very costly.
The performance of the FBBs can be signifi-
cantly influenced by the characteristics and extent
of biofilm formation, mass transport coefficients
and diffusion of oxygen and pollutants across the
biofilm, characteristics of the biofilm developed
on the surface of the carbon, reactor and process
configuration (flow rate, temperature, pH), and
finally, AC and pollutant characteristics [10–14].
For example, the productivity of a continuous
culture can be increased if the system utilizes a
biofilm instead of freely suspended microbial cells.
Furthermore, a biofilm is more stable to varia-
tions in flow rate and to sudden concentration
increases of toxic substances. Fan et al. [10]
showed that in FBB reactors used to remove
phenol from wastewater, phenol does not adsorb
on the biofilm, but rather diffuses through the
biofilm. The estimated diffusion coefficient of
phenol within the biofilm was reported to vary
between 13 and 39%, based on the configuration
of the system. It was also shown that the perfor-
mance of the FBB system relies significantly on
factors such as bacterial accessibility for biodegra-
dation, specific biofilm characteristics, system
configuration, organic loading, and flow rate. The
ratio of biofilm surface area to culture volume has
been successfully demonstrated to affect the phe-
nol reduction capacity of a solid support medium
using a continuous culture of Pseudomonas putida
(ATCC 11172) [15,16].
To promote adhesion and biofilm formation by
Pseudomonas putida, a suspended carrier should
be used in the bioreactors. In FBBs, however,
surfaces are subjected to different shear levels,
therefore, according to the specific carbon surface
properties, the extent of biofilm formation could
vary significantly with the characteristics of the
suspended carrier, e.g. activated carbon particles.
Most of the activated carbons used in the FBBs
are microporous carbons, which are made from
bituminous coal, coconut shell, wood, coal,
petroleum, lignin, and lignite. In recent years the
possibility of using bio-solids for the production
of activated carbons has been explored. Jeya-
seelan et al. [17], Lu [18] and Martin et al. [19]
have all begun to identify processes by which
bio-solids can be transformed to AC. Our recent
work showed that carbonaceous waste material
can be economically and efficiently converted to
ACs with specifically engineered surface proper-
ties [20,21]. Accordingly, by controlling the
method of production, it became possible to pro-
duce pure, mesoporous (80% meso and macropo-
 N.R. Khalili et al. / Separation/Purification Technology 26 (2002) 295–304
rous structure) activated carbon from paper mill
sludge with surface area as high as 1020– 1700
m2/g. Paper mill sludge was selected for the pro-
duction of activated carbon instead of biosolids
since this waste has shown less level of contami-
nants and more uniform chemical composition.
The main purpose of this study was to investi-
gate if the cost-effective carbon synthesized from
paper mill sludge can produce results comparable
(for removal of organics from contaminated wa-
ters) to those obtained for the most commonly
used carbon based sorbents (such as Sorbonorite
4), and if the unique surface properties of the
produced carbons offer an economically attractive
support system for the formation of the biofilm in
FBBs. The synthesized carbons were, therefore,
used as adsorbent and bio-carriers in laboratory
scale FBBs, and the extent of phenol removal for
a synthetic wastewater was investigated on a bi-
ofilm of Pseudomonas putida formed on the sur-
face of the produced activated carbon (IIT
carbon) and sorbonorite 4 (reference carbon). The
surface characteristics and adsorption properties
of the carbons were determined in addition to
identifying the comparative effectiveness of these
carbons for biodegradation of phenol.
Conversion of waste sludge to carbon-based
catalyst is a novel and environmentally friendly
process. It results in production of effective and
cost-efficient catalyst (due to negative cost associ-
ated with the raw material) from waste, and offers
significant potential for reducing the cost of
sludge treatment, which is commonly required
prior to its disposal. The environmental damage
that could result from uncontrolled disposal of
the waste can also be minimized by converting
sludge to other useful products.
2. Materials and methods
The experimental section consisted of (1) pro-
duction of activated carbon with a pre-defined
surface structure from paper mill sludge, (2)
preparation of the culture and medium required
for the biodegradation study, (3) production of
active biocatalyst (culture growth within the car-
bon structure) using a specially designed bioreac-
297
tor, (4) analysis of the adsorption capability of the
produced carbons, and (5) determination of the
kinetics of adsorption and biodegradation for the
produced carbon. The reference carbon, Sor-
bonorite 4, is a commercially available carbon,
which is produced from coal.
2.1. Production of a pure, mesoporous acti6ated
carbon from paper mill sludge
A pure, mesoporous activated carbon was pro-
duced following the procedure developed by Wal-
hof [20] and Khalili et al. [21]. The main steps in
the process for carbon production are presented
in Fig. 1. The paper mill sludge was the final
sludge produced at wastewater treatment facility
and milling processes. The chemical analysis indi-
cated that sludge contains 20% ash, 34% C, 5% H,
0.24% S, and 41% O2 with C/H ratio of 6.74.
Following the outlined procedure, the raw ma-
terial (sludge) was first dried in an oven at 110 °C
for 24 h, then crushed mechanically using a roller
mill. Crushing provided smaller particles with in-
creased surface area and also enabled more effi-
cient chemical activation of the raw material.
Samples were sieved after mechanical crushing to
obtain a particle size smaller than 600 mm. This
particle size range was found to be the most
suitable for the chemical activation process.
2.1.1. Chemical acti6ation
In the chemical activation process, the dried
material was impregnated with zinc chloride using
a ZnCl2 to sludge mass ratio of 3.5. About 100 ml
of H2O was mixed with  17 g of dried, crushed
and sieved sludge and a sufficient amount of
ZnCl2 to maintain the specified ZnCl2 to sludge
ratio. The slurry was mixed with a magnetic stir-
rer at 85 °C for 8 h. Upon drying, the activated/
dried sludge was crushed again into a fine powder
and exposed to light and humidity for 22 h.
Activation results in the production of activated
carbons with an enhanced surface area. The
aforementioned steps promote uniform carboniza-
tion reactions during the pyrolysis.
2.1.2. Pyrolysis
The dried, chemically activated, and light and
298 N.R. Khalili et al. / Separation/Purification Technology 26 (2002) 295–304
humidity treated sludge was placed into a quartz
reactor. The pyrolysis was carried out under a
flow of nitrogen gas (70 ml/min) at 800 °C for 2
h. The temperature was reached at a rate of
approximately 20 °C per min. Nitrogen gas was
used to provide an inert atmosphere and to carry
volatile matter away from the heating zone. Upon
completion of the pyrolysis, sample was removed
from the reactor and crushed using mortar and
pestle.
2.1.3. Rinsing
After pyrolysis, the carbonized material was
washed with 500 ml of 1.2 M HCl, followed by
washing with 500 ml of distilled water to extract
residual organic and mineral materials. The pro-
duced activated carbon was then placed in a
drying oven for 8–12 h (110 °C). After drying,
the sample was transferred to a 20 ml vial for
storage. To produce pure activated carbon
without any mineral substrate, the produced car-
bon was treated with hydrofluoric acid (HF) for 1
h, filtered, and then rinsed with distilled water
until a pH between 6 and 7 was achieved in
washwater. The produced activated carbon was
dried and stored in 20 ml vials prior to surface
analysis.
Fig. 1. Steps involved with the production of activated carbon from paper mill sludge.
2.2. Preparation of the culture medium
The microbial species used in this study was
Pseudomonas putida (c1172). This aerobic bac-
terium is often used for bioremediation because of
its ability to consume phenol. This culture was
obtained from American Type Culture Collection
(ATCC 11172). The freeze-dried culture was used
to prepare three different types of cultures: long
term stock culture, frozen culture to be used every
month, and culture for inoculation and produc-
tion of biocatalysts.
The cell suspensions were prepared as follows.
Commercially available freeze-dried stock culture
stored at − 70 °C with glycerol was inoculated in
a sterile Nutrient Broth (NB, 15:85) and incu-
bated at 25 °C for 24 h. One portion of this
solution was stored at − 70 °C and a second
portion of the solution was transferred to nutrient
agar (NA, Difco) at 25 °C. The 3-day-old
colonies of P. putida on agar were used to inocu-
late 10 ml of IPM solution in a baffled flask (the
IPM solution composition is provided in Table 1).
Resulting suspension was held at 25 °C for 16– 24
h, and 1 ml of this primary culture was trans-
ferred to 20 ml IPM solution and mixed for 16 h
at 25 °C for the inoculation of the bioactive
carbons.
 N.R. Khalili et al. / Separation/Purification Technology 26 (2002) 295–304 299

Table 1 bioreactor to study the extent of phenol removal

Chemical constituents of the IPM solution
for each catalyst (BAC IIT and BAC Sorbonorite 4).
Chemical Amount per 1 l of solution (mg)
2.4. Adsorption isotherm study
Phenol 500
KH2PO4 840 As a substitute for industrial wastewater, a
K2HPO4 750 phenol solution with a concentration of 500 mg/l
(NH4)2SO4 480
NaCl 60
was prepared. Phenol was selected for this study
CaCl2 60 because extensive data is available on diffusivity
MgSO4 60 and extent of biodegradation of phenol in FBBs.
FeCl3 6 Phenol is also commonly found in waste streams
as a result of humidification processes and anthro-
pogenic activities.
2.3. Production of the bioacti6e carbons (BACIIT The adsorption isotherm parameters were de-
and BACSorbonorite 4) termined for both carbons by placing 0.1 g of
each carbon in conical flasks containing synthetic
Fig. 2 demonstrates the schematic of the pro- wastewater with phenol concentrations of 100,
cesses involved with the production of the biocat- 200, 300, 400 and 500 mg/l. Flasks were secured
alysts from IIT carbon and sorbonorite 4. and placed on a rotary shaker for 24–48 h until
To induce biological activation, reactors were equilibrium was achieved. The liquid samples
filled with 1g of each type of carbon, and sec- were centrifuged and filtered prior to measuring
ondary culture. Upon securing the mixture, oxy- equilibrium concentration of phenol in each flask
gen for the bacteria growth, and IPM solution using a spectrophotometer (Spectronic 21 D, Mil-
were passed through the reactors for 16– 48 h to ton Roy).
ensure complete bacterial growth within the car-
bon structure. The biologically activated carbons 2.5. Determination of the extent of phenol
(BACs) were then removed from the column, one remo6al
portion was freeze dried and stored for future use
and another portion was used in a fluidized bed 2.5.1. Effect of physical adsorption
The extent of phenol removal due to physical
adsorption was also evaluated using fluidized bed
reactors containing sorbonorite 4 and IIT carbon.
The fluidized bed reactors were run simulta-
neously using a configuration similar to that pre-
sented in Fig. 2. The adsorption study was
accomplished by placing carbons in the reactors,
adding synthetic phenol solutions, fluidizing the
bed using air, and measuring phenol concentra-
tion at 1 h time intervals.

2.5.2. Effect of adsorption-biodegradation

Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the bioreactor used for produc-
tion of biocatalysts.
The fluidized bed reactors used to study the
effect of bioactivation of the carbons included: (a)
the produced bioactive carbons (BACIIT and
BACSorbonorite 4), (b) 1 ml of synthetic wastewater
diluted with water to 100 ml, (c) 2.5 ml of 0.5 N
NaOH combined with the phenol solution and
phosphate buffer solution of 34 g/l having a final
300 N.R. Khalili et al. / Separation/Purification Technology 26 (2002) 295–304

pH of 7.990.1, and (d) phenol indicator [1 ml of

K3Fe(CN)6 (8 g/100 ml) and 1 ml of 4-aminoan-
tipyrine (2 g/100 ml)]. Due to the physical and
biological characteristics of the reactors they are
referred to in this study as fluidized bed bioreac-
tors (FBBs).
The concentration of phenol in each reactor was
measured at 1-h interval using spectrophotometer
(500 nm). The reactors were equipped with a glass
frit to support the mixture (carbon and phenolic
solution). A one-way check valve was installed at
the bottom of the reactor to block the out flow of
the solution. A condenser was attached at the top
of the column to prevent any loss of phenol from
the solution. BACs were collected at the end of
each experiment and stored at 0 °C in the refriger-
ator for further analysis.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Characterization of the acti6ated carbons

The produced IIT carbon and Sorbonorite 4

were characterized with respect to their surface
properties; surface area, pore volume, and the
extent of micro and mesoporosity using N2 ad-
sorption isotherm data. Fig. 3a and b show the
adsorption–desorption isotherms obtained for
these carbons. The differences observed between
the isotherm shapes clearly indicate the presence of
different pore structures. Also, as shown in Table Fig. 3. (a) N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms for sorbonorite
4. (b) N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms for IIT carbon.
2, mesoporous structure is the dominant character-
istic feature of IIT carbon, while Sorbonorite 4 is
estimate K and 1/n parameters. The observed
a microporous carbon with the average pore di-
standard deviations for the measurements were
ameter of about 13 A, . For Sorbonorite 4 meso-
between 0.04 and 0.06. The Freundlich model was
and microporous surface areas are comparable.
selected since most adsorption isotherms for
Surface area related to the microporous structure
wastewater processes are satisfactorily represented
in IIT carbon, however, is about three times less
by this model.
than that estimated for its meso- and macro-pores.
A fit of the experimental data to the Freundlich
model (Eq. (1)) leads to determination of adsorp-
3.2. Determination of adsorption parameters
tion capacity of the carbons, K, and adsorption
affinity, 1/n:
The adsorption isotherm curves obtained for IIT
carbon and Sorbonorite 4 using a synthetic phenol q=KC (1/n) (1)
e
solution are presented in Fig. 4. The average
values obtained for q at equilibrium concentra- where q [(C0 − Ce)V/mass of carbon] represents
tions were used to construct the curves and amount of phenol adsorbed per unit mass of
 N.R. Khalili et al. / Separation/Purification Technology 26 (2002) 295–304 301

Table 2
Surface properties of the activated carbons

Surface area Total pore Micro- Meso- Micro-pore Meso-pore Average pore
(m2/g) volume porous porous surface area surface area radius (A, )
(cm3/g) structure (%) structure (%) (m2/g) (m2/g)

IIT carbon 1092 1.52 25% 74% 273 808 50

Sorbonorite 4 1204 1.08 46% 42% 553 505 13

carbon, and C0 and Ce are the initial and equi-
librium concentrations of phenol. The estimates
of K and 1/n are presented in Table 3. These data
suggest that carbon produced at IIT has a higher
capacity (K values in Table 3) for adsorption of
phenol and stronger affinity (1/n) for phenol than
sorbonorite 4. The IIT carbon also shows far
better performance than sorbonorite 4 at low
phenol concentration (Ce less than 10 mg/l). The
higher adsorption capacity of the IIT carbon was
related to its mesoporous structure and access-
ibility of the pores to the adsorbate (meso-
porous structure enhances diffusion– adsorption
processes).
3.3. Estimation of the surface co6erage
parameters
By using the chemical bond lengths and molec-
ular structure of the phenol molecule, the actual
dimensions of the surface covered by one phenol
molecule and number of activated carbon rings
covered by each phenol molecule were estimated
in this study. The area of each activated carbon
aromatic ring was found to be 5.25× 10 − 20 m2.
The activated carbon pore area occupied by one
mole of phenol was found to be 3×105 m2
[5.25× 10 − 20 × 9.5× 6.02× 1023 (Avogadro’s
number)].
Assuming that the adsorbed molecules form no
more than a monolayer of coverage, the mass-
based solid concentration of phenol was then
converted to a new parameter, surface coverage,
S, using Eq. (2).

To effectively compare the different carbons

and allow an accurate comparison of the basic
adsorption process, isotherm graphs were con-
structed based on the normalized concentration
and estimated surface coverage for each carbon.
An adsorption isotherm based on surface cover-
age is a function of the size of the adsorbate
molecule and the adsorbent pore surface area.
This means that one must consider the effect of
the adsorbate molecular size to alleviate the defi-
ciencies of using a mass-based solid concentration
in the isotherm correlation. As Furuya et al. [22]
proposed, the surface area occupied by adsorbed
molecules, called surface coverage, can be used to
account for the effects of molecular size. They
proposed a conceptual model that assumes that
the surface coverage is limited to a monolayer of
organic molecules. Based on this assumption, the
extent of the surface coverage can be estimated
from the molecular size of adsorbents, knowing Fig. 4. Freundlich based adsorption isotherms for sorbonorite
the structure of the activated carbon. 4.
302 N.R. Khalili et al. / Separation/Purification Technology 26 (2002) 295–304

Table 3 3.4. Determination of the extent of phenol

Freundlich isotherm parameters
remo6al in FB and FBB reactors
K 1/n Mesoporosity (cm3/g)
The extent of change in phenol concentration
IIT Carbon 0.44 0.87 1.13 was determined for fluidized bed reactors contain-
Sorbonorite 4 0.024 2.5 0.28 ing synthetic wastewater, IIT carbon, sorbonorite
4 (FB reactors) and bioactivated carbons, BACIIT
and BACSorbonorite 4 (FBB reactors). As shown in
adsorbed molecular area Fig. 6, a phenol removal efficiency of 65–70% was
S = amount adsorbed obtained in FB reactors for IIT carbon and Sor-
pore surface area
(2) bonorite 4, respectively. The FBB reactors were,
however, able to remove up to 97% (S.D.91.2)
The amount adsorbed (mol/g) was calculated of the phenol using either BACIIT or
by dividing q (mg/mg carbon) by the molecular BACSorbonorite 4.
weight of phenol (94.05 g/gmol). Fig. 5 shows The overall removal efficiency of the FB reac-
adsorption isotherms obtained for the carbons tors containing IIT carbon and sorbonorite 4 was
under study using surface coverage model. As related to the physical adsorption on the carbons.
shown, IIT carbon provided higher surface cover- The higher removal efficiencies observed for the
age for phenol when compared with Sorbonorite FBB reactors were affiliated with the cumulative
4. effect of biodegradation and physical adsorption
These results are in a good agreement with our by biofilm and carbon structure. The lower sur-
experimental observations, which suggest higher face area and higher mass transfer limitations at
adsorption capacity of the IIT carbon is related to higher phenol concentrations were responsible for
its unique pore structure (mesoporosity) and the lower removal efficiencies obtained for the IIT
availability of the pores with average diameters of carbon used in the FB reactors. The other impor-
about 50 A, (Sorbonorite 4 has an average pore tant parameter that could have a significant im-
size of 13 A, ). pact on the adsorption capability of the carbons is

Fig. 5. Adsorption isotherms constructed based on surface coverage model (

IIT Carbon, “ Sorbonorite 4).
 N.R. Khalili et al. / Separation/Purification Technology 26 (2002) 295–304 303

from waste streams; bioactivation can enhance the

extent of organic removal in the FB reactors, and
pore structure has negligible impact on the bioac-
tivity of the catalysts. The highest adsorption
efficiency was observed for IIT carbon at dilute
solutions.

4. Conclusion

The purpose of this study was to evaluate or-

ganic removal capability of a novel mesoporous
activated carbon and biocatalyst produced from
papermill sludge. A commercially available acti-
vated carbon, sorbonorite 4, was used as a refer-
ence in this study.
The analysis of the activated carbon and bioac-
tivated carbon produced at IIT suggest that IIT
carbon has higher adsorption capacity and molec-
ular surface coverage than sorbonorite 4, at phe-
nol concentrations less than 10 mg/l. The fluidized

Fig. 6. The extent of phenol removal due to physical adsorp-

tion and biodegradation/adsorption for (a) sorbonorite 4, and
(b) IIT carbon.

the characteristics of their surface chemistry. Our

recent laboratory tests have shown that the
method of production and selection of raw mate-
rial can have a pronounced impact on the chem-
istry of the produced carbons (work in progress).
The bioactivated carbon particles were also ex-
amined microscopically upon completion of each
column study. The optical micrographs obtained
for these carbons are shown in Fig. 7. The pres-
ence of biofilm on the surface of the activated
carbon (the white layer) is evident in these micro-
graphs. Also noticeable in Fig. 7 are the differ-
ences in the surface characteristics of the two
BACs. The BACIIT contains larger pores as antic-
ipated. The uniform removal efficiencies of the
bioactive catalysts, however, suggest insufficient
impact of the pore structure on the extent of
catalyst bioactivity.
These results indicate that activated carbon Fig. 7. Microscopic view of the IIT carbon (at the top), and
produced from paper mill sludge at IIT can be sorbonorite 4 (at the bottom) with the biofilm shown in white
used significantly to remove organic pollutants (500 ×).
304 N.R. Khalili et al. / Separation/Purification Technology 26 (2002) 295–304
bed reactor study, however, indicates comparable
but slightly lower phenol removal efficiency for the
produced carbon at IIT. While the removal effi-
ciency of the carbons studied was 65– 70%, the
produced bioactive catalysts were able to remove
up to 979 1.2% of phenol in wastewater during the
first few hours of operation.
To eliminate environmental pollution and
landfill usage due to uncontrolled disposal of sludge
produced at paper mill facilities, sludge must be
pretreated using very often high cost and labor
intensive processes. The procedure developed for
conversion of waste sludge to carbon-based catalyst
here offers significant potential for reducing this
cost and the environmental damage resulting from
uncontrolled disposal of the waste sludge. The
usage of waste sludge is especially important due
to its mass production and resulting occupation of
valuable landfill space.
The other significant feature of the process
developed in this study is the production of a
cost-effective and highly efficient activated carbon
or carbon-based catalyst from waste material, while
most activated carbons are produced from coal,
coke, and other natural resources. This process
could facilitate wastewater treatment using carbons
produced from industrial waste itself, and promote
conservation of the naturally available resources
currently used to make activated carbons needed
not only for physical adsorption but also for
biodegradation of organic pollutants.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank IIT Research
Institute for providing financial support for this
research. We would also like to thank Royal Thai
Fellowship program for financial support provided
for one of the co-authors, Mr. W. Weangkaew.
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