Pm. Armenante et al., EFFECT OF A BIOFILM ON THE ADSORPTION OF 4-CHLOROPHENOL ON ACTIVATED CARBON, Applied microbiology and biotechnology, 46(5-6), 1996, pp. 667-672
The adsorption of 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) on activated carbon was studie
d experimentally both in the presence and in the absence of an inactiv
ated anaerobic biofilm on the surface of carbon pellets. The presence
of the biofilm markedly decreased the rate of 4-CP adsorption. However
, the final near-equilibrium state (at 27 h) was not affected, and the
incremental amount of material adsorbed on the pellets was similar bo
th in the presence and in the absence of the biofilm. The biosorption
of 4-CP by a biofilm coating non-adsorbing pellets was also determined
. It appears that the biofilm also has some adsorption capability. Fre
undlich-type equations were used to correlate all data, and transient
and near-equilibrium isotherms were obtained for 4-CP adsorption on di
fferent adsorbing materials at different times.