Comparison of activated carbon and low-cost adsorbents for removal of 2,4-dichlorophenol from wastewater using Aspen Adsorption and response surface methodology.

In this paper, the adsorption of the chlorinated organic compound, 2,4-dichlorophenol, using activated carbon (AC), bagasse fly ash (BFA) and rice husk fly ash (RHFA) in a packed bed column was simulated using Aspen Adsorption software. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the effectiveness of simulation software for identifying alternative low-cost adsorbents and optimising the adsorption process. The effect of process parameters such as initial concentration, bed height and inlet feed flow rate were evaluated using breakthrough curves.