Removal of Chlorophenols from Wastewater Using Red Mud: An Aluminum Industry Waste

Removal of toxic substances from wastewaters using low-cost alternatives to activated carbon is an important area in environmental sciences. Efforts have been made to convert red mud, an aluminum industry waste, into a low-cost potential adsorbent, and the final material has been used for the removal of phenol, 2-chlorophenol, 4-chlorophenol, and 2,4-dichlorophenol from wastewater. It is pertinent to mention that phenol and chlorophenols are highly carcinogenic and an priority class of pollutants which needs to be removed from effluents before discharge into water bodies. 2,4-Dichlorophenol and 4-chlorophenol are sorbed by the developed adsorbent up to 94−97%, while the removal of 2-chlorophenol and phenol was up to 50−81%. The removal of phenols and its derivatives was achieved up to 98% by column experiments at a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min. The order of removal was 2,4-dichlorophenol > 4-chlorophenol > 2-chlorophenol > phenol, and the removal takes place through a particle diffusion mechanism. The adsorption was found to be endothermic in nature and follows both Langmuir and Freundlich models. Estimation of the phenols was carried out by capillary electrophoresis, and the adsorbent has been successfully tried for the removal of chlorophenols from a wastewater. The developed process is very useful, economic, rapid, and reproducible for the removal of phenols.