Organobentonite: Characterization and adsorptive properties towards phenol and its derivatives

Bentonite from Mecji Do locality in Serbia was modified with hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMA-Br), and the sample was denoted as HDTMA-MD. The characterization of the material included X-Ray diffraction, elemental analysis and point of zero charge determination. The adsorption of phenol and its nitro derivatives: 2-nitrophenol (2NP), 3-nitrophenol (3NP) and 4-nitrophenol (4NP) on HDTMA-MD was investigated. The adsorption capacity of HDTMA-MD toward phenol derivatives increased in the following order qe (phenol) - qe (3NP) - qe (2NP) - qe (4NP). The influence of adsorption time and initial concentration on the adsorption efficiency of HDTMA-MD was studied for 4NP. The data were best fitted with Langmuir isotherm model and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model.