Phenol Removal from Aqueous Solutions by a Novel Industrial Solvent

This article presents a useful method for the removal of phenolic contaminant from water and wastewaters by a novel industrial solvent using liquid-liquid extraction method. For this purpose, a paraffinic-based solvent (Iso-kerosene) was used. The selected ranges for the parameters were 20-50 degrees C for temperature, 100-500 (mg/L) for phenol concentration, and, 1-6 for aqueous feed pH. In each experiment run, the percentage of extraction was calculated. The percentage of extraction was measured to be in the range of 15-70%. The best percentage of extraction was obtained under the conditions of 100 (mg/L), 50 degrees C, and pH=6. The results showed that the extraction efficiencies are extremely sensitive to temperature. The ANOVA analysis of the results showed the degree of importance of the parameters and their contribution in the final extraction efficiency as extraction temperature, pH of the feed solution, and feed concentration, with a contribution of 73.47, 24.15, and 0.7, respectively. The contribution of experimental error and F ratios also demonstrated the accuracy of the results.