LIQUID-PHASE SORPTION OF OIL BY CARBONIZED RICE HUSKS: IMPACT OF GRAIN SIZE DISTRIBUTION ON THE SORPTION KINETICS

The use of sorbents, obtained from renewable wastes to purify the hydrosphere from various hazardous pollutants is an innovative approach with multiplied environmental effect. In this regard, there is interest in the processing of rice husks and converting them into an effective biosorbent for purification of water fr om oil pollution. By slow pyrolysis of rice husk at 480°C pyrolysis charcoal was obtained. The product was divided into fractions with sizes in the range from 0,4 to 2,0 mm. Each fraction was tested with respect to adsorption of crude oil from water surface gravimetrically and as emulsified in aqueous media by a batch-method. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of the factor “granulometry of the adsorbent” on the sorption kinetics and efficiency of the material for both cases of contamination. An attempt had been made the kinetics of the pro cess to be described by kinetic models, most often used for adsorption from aqueous media: Lagergren’s equation; second order kinetics equation; Weber-Morris’s diffusion equation and Elovich equation.