Diseño de una columna de adsorción mixta para la remoción de hidrocarburos totales en matrices acuosas

Abstract

Total petroleum hydrocarbon contamination of water in the Amazon is primarily caused by oil activities, since for every barrel of oil recovered, three barrels of water are contaminated. Therefore, the objective of this academic work is the construction of a mixed adsorption column composed of biochar obtained from banana stems and zeolite. To study the behavior of the adsorbents, batch and continuous tests were performed. Their adsorption properties were evaluated using phenol as the model contaminant and fitting Freundlich and Yoon Nelson cascade isotherm models. It was determined that biochar has a better adsorption affinity for phenol and that zeolite provides good mechanical support to the mixed bed. For the engineering validation of the column at the micro scale, Aspen Adsorption V14 simulation software was used and fitted with the Yon Nelson model curve, obtaining a relative error of less than 10%, for a breakthrough time at t5 and t10. Finally, with the simulator calibrated, the mixed column was scaled to laboratory scale, obtaining a rupture time t5 of 24 hours. Keywords: biochar - adsorption - simulation - scale-up -