Sorption of 4-Nitroaniline on Activated Kaolinitic Clay and Jatropha curcas Activated Carbon in Aqueous Solution

A comparative study was carried out of the adsorption of 4-nitroaniline (4-na) on activated kaolinitic clay and jatropha curcas activated carbon. the kaolinitic clay and jatropha curcas samples were activated with 1 m hno3 and 0.5 m naoh, respectively, and were characterized using xrf, xrd, bet, sem and ftir techniques. the effects of various experimental parameters, such as the initial 4-nitroaniline (4-na) concentration, temperature, ph, contact time and adsorbent dosage on the adsorption process were investigated. the results obtained showed that jatropha curcas activated carbon exhibited a better performance for the removal of 4-nitroaniline (4-na) from aqueous media. the adsorption process was found to obey pseudo-second order kinetics and equilibrium data were best fitted with the freundlich isotherm. the adsorption process was found to be independent of temperature.