A Comparative Study on Adsorption Characteristics of PCBs in Transformer Oil Using Various Adsorbents

The aim of the present study is to explore the possibility of utilizing loess and fly ash as well as activated carbon for the adsorptive removal of PCBs in transformer oil. Here, we investigated the effect of various factors such as temperature (5, 25, 55), contact time (30 min-3 day) and adsorbent does (1, 2.5, 5, 10 g) in detail. It was found that PCBs adsorption rate from transformer oil by activated carbon is more favored than loess at the equilibrium time of 60 minutes. The equilibrium data for both activated carbon and loess is fitted well to the Freundlich isotherm model. The rate constant and activation energy of PCBs adsorption in transformer oil on each adsorbent was analyzed by fitting a kinetic model at 5, 25 and 55 degrees C. From the thermodynamic parameters, the PCBs adsorption process for transformer oil/activated carbon and loess system is spontaneous and endothermic in nature.