A pharmaceutical manufacturer plans to install a new industrial production process. The waste stream for the process is expected to have a concentration of 7.5 mg/L methylene blue at a flow rate of 25 gpm. The company environmental engineer suggests using carbon adsorption to remove the methylene blue. The following adsorption data were obtained in the laboratory. The liquid volume in each flask was 200 mL and the initial concentration of the methylene blue was 25 mg/L. Mass of PAC in Solution (mg) Equilibrium Concentration of Adsorbate in Solution Ce (mg/L)
98.6 0.04
58.1 0.11
26.3 0.49
15.7 1.2
8.8 3.2
2.9 10.2
0.8 19.7
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Required:
a. Use the Freundlich isotherm as a model for this process. Determine both of the Freundlich parameters (K and 1/n).
b. Estimate the amount of activated carbon required to remove the contaminant each year. Assume the carbon is removed from an adsorption column that reaches equilibrium with the carbon at the 7.5 mg/L concentration.