Abstract

Theadsorption efficiency of commercial activated carbon towardibuprofen (IBU) was investigated and described using the adsorptiondynamic intraparticle model (ADIM). Although the adsorption capacityof activated carbon has been widely studied, the kinetic models usedin the literature are simplified, treating adsorption kinetics withpseudo-kinetic approaches. In this paper, a realistic model is proposed,quantitatively describing the influence of the main operation parameterson the adsorption kinetics and thermodynamics. The thermodynamic datawere interpreted successfully with the Freundlich isotherm, derivingan endothermic adsorption mechanism. The system was found to be dominatedby the intraparticle diffusion regime, and the collected data allowedthe determination of the surface activation energy (E (S) = 60 +/- 7 kJ/mol) and the fluid-solid apparentactivation energy (E (A) = 6 +/- 1 kJ/mol).The obtained parameters will be used to design adsorption columns,allowing the scale-up of the process.