Adsorption of non-ionic surface active agent on fine coal and lignite

The adsorption of Triton X-100 in aqueous solution on the less than 53 mum size fractions of Tuncbilek lignite and Zonguldak bituminous coal was studi ed. The adsorption isotherms were formed for 5, 30 and 1,440 (equilibrium) minutes. The isotherms were evaluated using both Langmuir and Freundlich ad sorption equations. Concentrations of the reagent in the monolayer after eq uilibrium adsorption were determined to be 8.17 and 7.27 muM/g coal for the lignite and bituminous coal using the Langmuir adsorption equation. The sp ecific adsorption capacity per unit area of Zonguldak bituminous coal was 5 .3 times higher than that of Tuncbilek lignite. The adsorption kinetic test s were also conducted with the reagent and coal samples used in the study. The experimental data indicated that there were two very different adsorpti on rates, one being fast and the other very slow. A large amount of the rea gent was adsorbed on the solid surface during the fast adsorption stage.