Separation of BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes) from aqueous solutions using adsorption process

A commercial synthetic zeolite (Na-ZSM-5) was modified with an organic surfactant, HDTMA-Br. Then both unmodified and modified zeolite (SMZ-100) were tested to adsorb Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylene (BTEX) compounds from water solution. Adsorption tests were done in batch conditions at the ambient temperature (20 degrees C) and pressure. Adsorbents were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), N-2 adsorption-desorption isotherms and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and characterization results proved the existence of surfactant on the surface of the adsorbent. In all cases, the modified zeolite sample, because of increasing the hydrophobicity of its surface, exhibited higher adsorption capacity in comparison with unmodified zeolite. Also, for each adsorbent, the adsorption capacity follows the order: E>X>T>B. In equilibrium experiments, Langmuir isotherm model fitted the equilibrium data better than the Freundlich model. In kinetic experiments, the pseudo-second order model described the kinetic data better than the other models.