Diffusion of phenol through a biofilm attached to activated carbon particles was investigated. The biofilm was grown on activated carbon particles in a draft-tube three-phase fluidized-bed bioreactor operating in a fed-batch mode. It was found that phenol did not adsorb on the biofilm and that the diffusion coefficient of phenol within the biofilm varied from 13 to 39% of its corresponding value in water. The diffusion coefficient of phenol within the biofilm was reduced by increasing the biofilm density. An extensive literature review of diffusion of substrates through biofilms indicated that this conclusion could be extended to biofilms grown on flat surfaces, rotating cylinders, and even bioflocs.

The effects of solution pH and temperature on the adsorption of fluoride onto bone char made from cattle bones were investigated in this work. It was found that the maximum adsorption took place at pH 3 and the adsorption capacity decreased nearly 20 times augmenting the pH from 3 to 12. This behavior was attributed to the electrostatic interactions between the surface of bone char and the fluoride ions in solution. The adsorption capacity was not influenced by temperature in the range from 15 to 35 °C. A comparison of fluoride adsorption capacities among several adsorbents revealed that the adsorption capacity of the bone char was 2.8 and 36 times greater than those of a commercial activated alumina (F-1) and a commercial activated carbon (F-400). The adsorption capacity is considerably dependent upon the physicochemical properties of the bone char surface and the solution pH.

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The adsorption isotherm of cadmium on activated carbon was measured in a batch adsorber. Effects of temperature and solution pH on the adsorption isotherm were investigated by determining the adsorption isotherm at temperatures of 10, 25, and 40°C and at initial pH values from 2 to 8. Langmuir isotherm better fitted the experimental data since the average percent deviation was lower than with the Freundlich isotherm It was noticed that the amount of Cd2+ adsorbed was reduced about 3 times by increasing the temperature from 10 to 40°C. It was found that Cd2+ was not adsorbed on activated carbon at pH of 2 or lower and that Cd2+ was precipitated out as Cd(OH)2 at pH values above 9. Maximum adsorption capacity was observed at pH of 8 and the adsorption capacity was decreased about 12 times by reducing the initial pH from 8 to 3. According to the cadmium speciation diagram the predominant species below pH of 8 is Cd2+. Thus, cadmium was adsorbed on the activated carbon surface as Cd2+. It was concluded that the adsorption capacity is a strong function of pH and temperature.

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