Removal of selected organic compounds on modified activated carbons

The presented work attempted to modify activated carbons with ultrasonic field and evaluate the efficiency of sorption of organic compounds on the obtained modified activated carbons. The results showed that the applied procedure had a positive effect on the removal of the investigated substance. In the case of removal of benzoic and phthalic acids, the highest sorption capacities were obtained for activated carbons modified with ultrasonic waves with the amplitude of 100% and the exposure time of 5 min. The removal efficiency for both acids was approximately 80% at the initial pH and 65% at pH = 8.0. Sorption of imidazole on modified activated carbons showed that lower final concentration was obtained for activated carbons modified with ultrasounds at the amplitude of 100%. The time of exposure to ultrasounds did not have a significant effect on reducing final concentrations. The average removal degree was approximately 45%. Sorption of phenol showed that the average degree of removal was approximately 80% for the solution of the initial pH whereas for higher pH the average removal degree was close to 65%.