Derivation of Langmuir and Freundlich Isotherms by Using HPLC

Abstract:
Different amounts of granulated activated carbon were combined with a phenol
solution in eight bottles. After the phenol was allowed to adsorb onto the surface of the
activated carbon the remaining phenol in solution was measured by HPLC. Langmuir
and Freundlich isotherms were then derived from our data. The Langmuir isotherm is a
better representation for lower concentrations and the Freundlich isotherm is a better
representation at higher concentrations.

Introduction:
The fate of many chemical pollutants in the environment depends on whether or
not it is capable of adsorbing to particles. Sorption isotherms are used to describe
equilibrium between sorbed and desorbed phases. There are many different sorption
isotherms each with a different shape (1). The two isotherms used in this lab were the
Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The Freundlich isotherm is described by the
following equation:
Cis  K iF  Ciwni
The Langmuir isotherm is described by this equation:
  K C
Cis  max iL iw
1  K iL  Ciw
In this lab granular activated carbon was put into a phenol solution to allow the
adsorption of phenol on its surface. The remaining phenol in the solution was then
measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). HPLC uses a liquid
phase that is forced through a column at high pressure (2). The purpose of this
experiment was to determine whether the Langmuir isotherm or Freundlich isotherm is a
better fit for the adsorption of phenol to granular activated carbon.

Procedure:
Standard Preparation: Standards were prepared from a 100mg/L buffered phenol solution
(190 mg/L KH2PO4 and 100 mg/L K2HPO4). The concentrations of the standards were
as follows:
Std
(mg/L)
5.08
10.16
25.4
50.8
101.6

Sample Preparation: The samples were prepared by adding differing amounts of granular
activated carbon (GAC) and the phenol solution in eight different bottles. The bottles
preparation is summarized in the following table:

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