Electrochemical regeneration of a native activated carbon

Activated carbon prepared from coconut shell was examined for the adsorption of phenol from aqueous solution. The saturated activated carbon was regenerated using electrochemical method. The native activated carbon was effective in adsorption of phenol. The uptake of phenol increased with increasing initial concentration of phenol. The equilibrium adsorption isotherm data was better fitted by the Langmuir model than the Freundlich model with regression coefficient of 0.99555 and 0.98409, respectively. The electrochemical regeneration efficiency was between 85 and 95 %, and an optimum condition of 50 mA regeneration current intensity and 5 h regeneration time at I % NaCl electrolyte solution was obtained. Repeated regeneration of the activated carbon suggested continuous re-use of the carbon over a period of time.