Equilibria,Kinetics, and Mechanisms for the Adsorption of Four Classes of Phenolic Compounds onto Synthetic Resins

The adsorption of five phenolic compounds of four different classes from aqueous batch solutions onto four styrene-divinylbenzene and acrylic resins (EXA 90, EXA 118, XAD 7, and XAD 16) was investigated regarding their equilibria, kinetics and surface-energy heterogeneity, and mechanisms of adsorption. The experimental equilibrium data were very well fitted to Langmuir and Freundlich models (R ² > 0.900). Three kinetic models (pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, and an intra-particle diffusion model) were suitable for describing the experimental data, the pseudo-second-order kinetic model being the best one (p < 0.001). The adsorption energy values were low (<19.00 kJ/mol), suggesting a physical adsorption process. Driving forces involved in the adsorption of the phenolic compounds onto the resins were hydrogen bonding, π ? π stacking and hydrophobic interactions.