Simultaneous adsorption of phenol and Cu2+ from aqueous solution by activated carbon/chitosan composite

A multifunction adsorbent was synthesized by incorporating AC into CTS, and the ratio of AC to CTS was 1/1. The resultant was called activated carbon (AC)/chitosan (CTS) composite. The simultaneous adsorption of phenol and Cu 2+ from aqueous solution onto AC/CTS composite was investigated by a batch procedure. The adsorption processes for both Cu 2+ and phenol obeyed the pseudo second-order kinetic model. Phenol was prone to be adsorbed more quickly as compared with Cu 2+ when they coexisted in solution. The adsorption behavior of both phenol and Cu 2+ followed the Langmuir isotherm. The maximum adsorption capacities of phenol and Cu 2+ were 34.19 mg/g and 74.35 mg/g at 293 K, respectively. No obvious competitive adsorption existed between phenol and Cu 2+ .