Preparation and Characterization of an Activated Carbon Based on Coconut Shell for the Elimination of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid in Aqueous Medium

The objective of this work is to evaluate the capacity of activated carbon prepared from coconut shells to eliminate 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid from aqueous solution. The characterization tests revealed that the specific surface area determined by the BET method is 570 m²/g consisting essentially of micropores. The chemical characteristics determined by the Boehm method indicate the acidic character of the carbon. The 2,4- dichlorophenoxyacetic acid adsorption tests revealed that the adsorption rate of 2,4- dichlorophenoxyacetic acid increases with increasing contact time, but decreases with increasing initial concentration. To do this with a mass of 0.5 g, for a concentration of 5 mg/l for a 100 min agitation time, the rate of elimination of the 2.4-D reaches 77 %. The adsorption capacity studied showed that the adsorption process of 2,4-D on activated carbon is controlled by pseudo-second order kinetics.