Removal of Aromatic Compounds from Wastewater of “Rubizhanskyi” Storage Facility Using Carbon Adsorbents

The wastewater of the “Rubizhanskyi” storage facility at the chemical enterprise “Rubizhanskyi Krasitel” (Ukraine) is a complex multicomponent system. The concentration of colored organic substances in the highly mineralized wastewater significantly exceeds the established norms. This work shows the possibility of an almost complete purification of the multicomponent wastewater using a carbon sorbent. The treatment of wastewater was carried out using the sorption method with carbon adsorbents KARBON™ (Institute for Sorption and Problems of Endoecology, Kyiv, Ukraine) and ZL-302, which are micro-mesoporous materials, with specific surface areas of 1730 and 1523 m2/g, respectively. The purification efficiency of the wastewater containing aromatic compounds by the carbon adsorbents KARBON™ and ZL-302 achieved 99.99% and 94.4%, respectively. The adsorption capacity of the carbon adsorbent KARBON™ with respect to aniline was 0.47 g/g, and that of commercial coal ZL-302 was 0.45 g/g. Therefore, the carbon adsorbent KARBON™ is a promising material for the successful purification of wastewater from chemical enterprises contaminated with aromatic compounds.