A novel application of building demolition waste for removal benzene from aqueous solutions

A novel application of building demolition waste for removal benzene from aqueous solutions. In this research, demolition waste from buildings has been studied for possible use as benzene removal adsorbent from aquatic solution. The effect of adsorbent dosage, contact time, initial benzene concentration, and initial pH on benzene adsorption capacity have been investigated in the batch adsorption experiments. The adsorption effects initially happened very rapidly and achieved equilibrium within 180 min. Benzene removal was observed to decrease by an increase in the initial concentration of benzene of 300–700 mg·L–1, an increase in the adsorbent dose of 0.4–2.4 g per 100 mL, where an optimum adsorbent dose equal to 1.2 g per 100 mL was found. The potential of adsorption increases with pH 3.0–7.0 to reach the maximum removal efficiency at pH 6.0. The findings showed that equilibrium data were adequately adapted and correlated with the Freundlich isotherm models. The average percentage of the removal at room temperature was about 98%. Results suggest that building demolition waste can be used effectively in industrial wastewater treatment for the removal of aromatic hydrocarbon, benzene, as a low-cost option.