This article was downloaded by: [Florida Atlantic University]

On: 19 November 2014, At: 09:13

Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered
office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Fullerenes, Nanotubes and Carbon

Nanostructures
Publication details, including instructions for authors and
subscription information:
http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/lfnn20

Removal of COD from Dairy Wastewater

by MWCNTs: Adsorption Isotherm
Modeling
a a
O. Moradi & M. S. Maleki
a
Department of Chemistry , Shahre-Qods Branch, Islamic Azad
University , Shahre-Qods , Tehran , Iran
Accepted author version posted online: 01 Oct 2013.Published
online: 05 Nov 2013.

To cite this article: O. Moradi & M. S. Maleki (2013) Removal of COD from Dairy Wastewater by
MWCNTs: Adsorption Isotherm Modeling, Fullerenes, Nanotubes and Carbon Nanostructures, 21:10,
836-848, DOI: 10.1080/1536383X.2011.613547

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1536383X.2011.613547

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the
“Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis,
our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to
the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions
and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors,
and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content
should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources
of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims,
proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or
howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising
out of the use of the Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any
substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing,
systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms &
Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-
and-conditions
 Fullerenes, Nanotubes, and Carbon Nanostructures, 21: 836–848, 2013
Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 1536-383X print / 1536-4046 online
DOI: 10.1080/1536383X.2011.613547

Removal of COD from Dairy Wastewater by

MWCNTs: Adsorption Isotherm Modeling

O. MORADI AND M. S. MALEKI

Department of Chemistry, Shahre-Qods Branch, Islamic Azad University,
Shahre-Qods, Tehran, Iran
Downloaded by [Florida Atlantic University] at 09:13 19 November 2014

The present study reports the treatment of synthetic dairy wastewater in terms of
chemical oxygen demand removal by means of adsorption onto multi-walled carbon
nanotube. The effects of contact time, initial concentration, temperature, adsorbent
dosage and pH on the removal of dairy wastewater were also investigated. The equi-
librium data were analyzed by the Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, Handersen, and
Harkins-jura, and Halsey models, which revealed that Langmuir model is more suitable
to describe the dairy wastewater adsorption than other models.

Keywords Multi-walled carbon nanotube, dairy wastewater, isotherm models

1. Introduction
The dairy industry, like most other agro-industries, generates strong wastewaters charac-
terized by high biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD)
concentrations reflecting their high organic content (1). Dairy waste effluents are con-
centrated in nature, and the main contributors of organic load to these effluents are
carbohydrates, proteins and fats originating from the milk (2). Dairy wastewater is invari-
ably high in nutrients (i.e., nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) and organic material (e.g.,
oils and fat, dissolved lactic acid) and consequently has a high biological oxygen demand
(BOD). Furthermore, dairy-processing effluent also has high concentrations of dissolved
salts (total dissolved solids, TDS). The use of acid and alkaline cleaners and sanitizers in the
dairy industry additionally influences wastewater characteristics and typically results in a
highly variable pH (3). Several biological treatment systems have been used for wastewater
treatment, such as activated sludge system, anaerobic pond, oxidation pond, trickling filter
and combined trickling filter/activated sludge system (4). However, each system has its
own disadvantages. Aerated lagoon system may cause fluctuated effluent water quality and
required a greater area. Anaerobic pond system can produce a bad smell by releasing H2 S
and NH3 (5). Activated sludge system achieved high organic removal efficiency for treating
dairy wastewater with BOD, COD and TKN removal of 99%, 81% and 93%, respectively
(6). Nevertheless, it required high energy consumption and generated high biomass which
was probably raised and bulked in a sedimentation tank (7,8). Anaerobic method for the
treatment of dairy wastewater is attracting the attention of researchers because of the pres-
ence of high organic content in the waste, low energy requirement of the process, lesser
sludge production and generation of some valuable fuels (9).

Address correspondence to O. Moradi, Department of Chemistry, Shahre-Qods Branch, Islamic

Azad University, Tehran, Iran. E-mail: o.moradi@shahryaiu.ac.ir; moradi.omid@gmail.com

836
 Removal of COD from dairy wastewater 837

Adsorption, another way for treatment of dairy wastewater processes, has been found
to be attractive for the removal of organic compounds from wastewaters. Activated carbon is
generally used as an adsorbent for the treatment of various types of wastewaters. However,
many investigators have utilized several low-cost adsorbents such as coal fly ash, rice husk
ash and bagasse fly ash for the treatment of a wide variety of wastewaters (10,11). Rao and
Bhole (12) used some low-cost adsorbents along with powdered activated carbon (PAC) for
the treatment of dairy wastewater. PAC was found to be better in lowering total dissolved
solids than other pretreated adsorbents like bagasse, straw dust, saw dust, coconut coir and
fly ash. Sarkar (13) employed coagulation by chitosan followed by adsorption with PAC as
pretreatment steps before treating the dairy wastewater by membrane separation method.
During adsorption steps, PAC showed a maximum COD removal of 68% at pH = 4,
adsorbent dose of 1.5 g/L, and contact time of 1.5 hours for dairy wastewater having an
initial COD of 2000 mg/L. Kushwaha (14) study treatment synthetic dairy wastewater for
Downloaded by [Florida Atlantic University] at 09:13 19 November 2014

removal of COD and BOD by activated carbon-commercial grade and bagasse fly ash. Also
in his research, they indicated activated carbon-commercial is better adsorbent than bagasse
fly ash for the removal of COD from synthetic dairy wastewater.
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as new adsorbents have gained increasing attention of many
researchers, since Long and Yang first reported that CNTs were more efficient for the
removal of dioxins than activated carbon (15). According to the grapheme layer, CNTs
can be classified into single-walled CNTs (SWCNTs) and multi-walled CNTs (MWCNTs)
(16). Due to their large specific surface area, small size, and hollow and layered structures,
CNTs have been proven to possess great potential as superior adsorbents for removing
many kinds of organic and inorganic contaminants including 1,2-dichlorobenzene (17), tri-
halomethanes (18), microcystins (19), fluoride (20), lead (21), nickel (22) and arsenate (23).
Recently, Wu have investigated the adsorption equilibrium, kinetics and thermodynamics
of CNTs for reactive dyes (24). Although the adsorption capacity is increased using CNTs
as adsorbents, it might be suffered from the inconvenience of tedious centrifugation sepa-
ration process. To overcome this problem, Fugetsu et al. have encapsulated MWCNTs in
Ba2+ -alginate matrix to constitute a cage and used it as the adsorbent for elimination of
ionic dyes (25).
In the present study, the dairy wastewater was treated by MWCNTs, for the removal
of COD. Investigations were carried out with MWCNTs by varying parameters such as
initial pH (pHi ), adsorbent dose (m), contact time (t), initial COD concentration (C0 ) and
temperature (T). Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, Handersen, as well as Harkins-jura and
Halsey isotherm models were used to represent the adsorption equilibrium data.

2. Experimental

2.1. Wastewater
The dairy wastewater was prepared freshly whenever required from refining section of
Pegah Milk Company (Tehran, Iran) and concentration was maintained uniform throughout
the study. The characteristics of the dairy wastewater used in this study are presented in
Table 1.

2.2. Adsorbent and its characterization

MWCNTs (armchair (6,6), Young’s modulus (0.94T TPa), tensile strength (GPa 126.2T),
purity, >95; diameter 1–2 nm; length, 5–30 nm; surface area, ∼400 m2 /g; and
manufacturing method, catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CVD) was purchased from
 838 O. Moradi and M. S. Maleki

Table 1
Characteristics of dairy wastewater
from refining section Peghah Milk
Company (Tehran, Iran)
Parameters Range
pH 6.5–7.1
COD (mg/l) 2550
BOD (mg/l) 1500
Total solids (mg/l) 2580
Conductivity (µs/cm) 210
Chloride (mg/l) 28
Total N (mg/l) 103.5
Downloaded by [Florida Atlantic University] at 09:13 19 November 2014

NanoAmor Nanostructured & Amorphous Materials, Inc. (USA). Doubly distilled water
was used and all adsorbents were washed before using. In addition, scanning electron
microscopy (SEM) analysis was carried out using a scanning electron microscope (Model
Hitachi S-3000N) at 20 kV to study the surface morphology of the adsorbents.

2.3. Analytical measurements

The pH and temperature of the wastewater samples were measured on collection site.
Electrical conductivity, turbidity, total solids, total suspended solids, total dissolved solids,
BOD, most probable number (MPN) and COD were analyzed in laboratory according to
the methods prescribed in APHA handbook (26). In this paper, only the removal of COD
is reported. The COD of the wastewater samples were measured in laboratory before and
after treatment with the adsorbent.

2.4. Adsorption studies

For each experiment, certain amount of the adsorbent was introduced into 100 mL stop-
pered conical flasks in which 100 mL of the dairy wastewater of known COD and pHi
was already present. The samples were then mounted in Ultrasonic Bath (71020-DTH-E;
Model 1510 DTH, 220V; EMS Company) to prevented the particles to aggregate and form-
ing bulk. Then the samples were centrifuged at 4500 rpm and the supernatant was filtered
through 0.2 µm filter paper for subsequent analysis of COD concentration. The initial and
final COD concentrations remaining in solutions were analyzed by UV spectrophotometer
(Shimadzu, Model UV 1601). The percentage removal of COD was calculated using the
following equation:

(C0 − Ce )100
Percent COD removal = (1)
C0

where Ce is the equilibrium COD concentration (mg/L).

Kinetic experiments were evaluated at various times (10–16 hours) at optimum dose
of carbon nanotube at (m) optimum pH. Isothermal experiments were performed at 283,
293 and 303 K. The adsorbent was separated from the wastewater and analyzed for Ce . The
equilibrium adsorption uptake, qe (mg/g), was calculated using the following equation:
 Removal of COD from dairy wastewater 839

(C0 − Ce )V
qe = (2)
m

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Effect of contact time

Figure 1 presents SEM image of carbon nanotubes. Dairy wastewater was kept in contact
with the MWCNTs (m = 0.05 g) for 16 hours.
Figure 2 shows the effect of contact time (by data points) on adsorptive COD removal
of dairy wastewater by MWCNTs. Very rapid uptake can be seen during the first 12 hours.
After 14 hours, COD uptake nearly reached the equilibrium value. At the later stages, there
Downloaded by [Florida Atlantic University] at 09:13 19 November 2014

is no significant COD removal due to the large resistance offered to the dairy wastewater
components in the bulk phase by the dairy wastewater components already adsorbed in the
initial stages of adsorption. Contact time of 14 hours can be assumed to be equilibrium time
for the adsorption of dairy wastewater onto carbon nanotube.

3.2. Effect of adsorbent dosage

The results of experiments to determine the effects of adsorbent dosage on COD removal
are shown in Figure 3 and reveal that the removal efficiency of COD by the carbon nanotube
increases with an increase in adsorbent dosage. It rose from 30.7% to 40.4% with the

Figure 1. SEM images of carbon nanotubes (a) before adsorption 7500× (b) before adsorption
15000× (c) after adsorption 7500× (d) after adsorption 15000×.
 840 O. Moradi and M. S. Maleki

50

45

40
R%

35

30

25
Downloaded by [Florida Atlantic University] at 09:13 19 November 2014

0 5 10 15 20
Time (h)

Figure 2. Effect of contact time on the percentage of COD adsorption onto CNT (color figure
available online).

46

39
R%

32

25
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
Adsorbent dose (g)

Figure 3. Effect of adsorbent dosage on the percentage of COD adsorption onto CNT (color figure
available online).

increase of adsorbent dosages ranging from 0.05 g to 0.25 g. While a rapid increase was
observed at adsorbent dosages ranging between 0.05 g and 0.20 g, a plateau was seen at
those ranging between 0.20 g and 0.25 g. Increasing adsorbent dosage above 0.20 g had
negligible effect on the increase in removal efficiency of COD.

3.3. Effect of pH
The pH value of the aqueous solution is an important controlling parameter in the pro-
cess of adsorption. Figure 4 represents the effect of pH on the COD removal of dairy
wastewater by carbon nanotube. The degree of adsorption of COD onto the adsorbent
surface is primarily influenced by the surface charge on the adsorbent, which in turn is
influenced by the solution pH.
 Removal of COD from dairy wastewater 841

80

70

60
R%

50

40

30
Downloaded by [Florida Atlantic University] at 09:13 19 November 2014

8.5 9.5 10.5 11.5

pH

Figure 4. Effect of pH on COD adsorption by CNT (color figure available online).

For the adsorbent, highest removal efficiency of 66.8% was obtained at pH = 9.2.
It may be observed in the figure that as the pH values increase, the COD removal efficiency
decrease. As the pH of the system increased, the number of negatively charged surface sites
increased; thus this is not favor the adsorption of COD due to electrostatic attraction.

3.4. Effect of temperature

The influence of temperature on COD adsorption was also investigated. The effect of tem-
perature on the adsorption rate was studied by carrying out a series of experiments at 283,
293 and 303 K. the adsorption capacity of COD onto carbon nanotube was found to increase
with an increase in temperature. This suggests that the adsorption process is endothermic
in nature when temperature was increased from 283 to 303 K.

3.5. Effect of initial concentration

Effect of initial COD concentration was studied at different initial COD concentrations
in the range of 100–300 mg/L at 298 K with 0.05 g carbon nanotube at 14 hours. COD
adsorption capacity increased with increasing initial COD concentration in solution. This
can be attributed to the fact that higher concentrations result in a higher solute gradient,
providing the necessary driving force for COD to adsorb on to surface of adsorbent.

3.6. Adsorption isotherms

In order to determine the mechanism of COD adsorption on the multi-walled carbon
nanotube, the experimental data were applied to the Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin,
Harkins–Jura, Halsey and Henderson isotherm equations. The constant parameters of the
isotherm equations for this adsorption process were calculated by regression using linear
form of the isotherm equations. The constant parameters and correlation coefficient (R2 )
are summarized in Table 2.
The Langmuir (27) and Freundlich (28) adsorption isotherm models were used to
describe the sorption equilibrium. Langmuir model suggests a monolayer sorption, with
 842 O. Moradi and M. S. Maleki

Table 2
Langmuir isotherm parameters and SSE parameter for COD removal by CNTs surface
Qm K
Isotherm Type Equation (mg/g) (L/mg) R2 RL SSE

Ce = 1  C 
Langmuir Type 1 qe KQm + e Qm 22.17 0.0671 0.995 0.12–0.19 0.22

1 =1  1
Type 2 qe Qm + KQm Ce 20.79 0.1150 0.991 0.38

Type 3 qe = Qm − qe KCe 20.84 0.1166 0.9937 0.29
qe
Type 4 Ce = KQm − Kqe 21.56 0.0837 0.8143 0.88
Downloaded by [Florida Atlantic University] at 09:13 19 November 2014

5
Ce/qe

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
Ce

Figure 5. Langmuir isotherm of COD on CNT (color figure available online).

no lateral interaction between the adsorbed molecules. The linear form of Langmuir is
represented as follows:

Qm KCe
qe = (3)
(1 + KCe )

where Ce is the equilibrium concentration of the adsorbate (mg/L), qe is the amount of

adsorbate adsorbed per unit mass of adsorbent (mg/g), Qm and K are Langmuir con-
stants related to adsorption capacity and energy of adsorption, respectively. The Langmuir
constants Qm and K values can be calculated from the plot between Ce /qe versus Ce ,
1/qe versus 1/Ce , and qe versus qe /Ce for types 1, type 2, type 3 linearized Langmuir
isotherms, respectively. Figure 5 is shown the well-fitted plot of Langmuir model. The val-
ues of Qm determined from the Langmuir plots were 22.17, 20.79, 20.84, and 21.56 mg/g,
respectively (Table 2).
The essential characteristics of the Langmuir isotherm can be expressed in terms of a
dimensionless constant separation factor RL that is given by the following equation (29):

1
RL = (4)
(1 + KC0 )
 Removal of COD from dairy wastewater 843

where C0 is the highest initial concentration of adsorbate (mg/L) and K (L/mg) is

Langmuir constant. The value RL indicates the type of the isotherm to be either unfavorable
(RL > 1), linear (RL = 1), favorable (0 < RL < 1) or irreversible (RL = 0). The values of
RL in the present investigation were found to be between 0.12 and 0.19 showing that the
adsorption of COD on MWCNT is favorable.
The Freundlich isotherm is derived by assuming a heterogeneous surface (multilayer
adsorption) with a non-uniform distribution of heat of adsorption over the surface. This
isotherm assumes that the adsorption sites are distributed exponentially with respect to the
heat of adsorption and is given by:
1
/
qe = KF Ce n (5)
Downloaded by [Florida Atlantic University] at 09:13 19 November 2014

The linear form is given as:


ln qe = ln KF + 1 n ln Ce (6)

where KF (mg/g) and 1/n are relates to multilayer adsorption capacity and intensity of
adsorption. Also 1/n is known as the heterogeneity factor. Freundlich isotherm plot is
presented in Figure 6 while the coefficients are shown in Table 3. The value of 1/n was
also found to be less than 1 for the adsorption system, signifying again that adsorption is
favorable.
Temkin isotherm, which considers the effects of the heat of adsorption of all the
molecules in the layer decreases linearly with coverage due to adsorbent–adsorbate inter-
actions. The adsorption is characterized by a uniform distribution of the binding energies
up to maximum binding energy. The Temkin isotherm equation is given as:

qe = B ln(ACe ) (7)

The linear form is

qe = B ln(A) + B ln(Ce ) (8)

3.5

3.4

3.3
ln qe

3.2

3.1

2.9
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
ln Ce

Figure 6. Freundlich adsorption isotherm of COD on CNT (color figure available online).
 844 O. Moradi and M. S. Maleki

Table 3
Freundlich, Temkin, Harkins-jura, Halsey and D-R isotherm parameters
and SSE parameter for COD removal by CNTs surface

Freundlich KF (mg/g) 1 n R2 SSE
1
ln qe = ln KF + n ln Ce 1.029 0.1261 0.9908 0.433
Temkin A(L/mg) B R2 SSE
qe = B ln (A) + B ln (Ce ) 1.162 2.437 0.9797 0.75
Harkins-jura
    A B R2 SSE
1 A 1
= − log Ce 476.19 3.33 0.9837 0.61
q2e B A
Halsey      n k R2 SSE
Downloaded by [Florida Atlantic University] at 09:13 19 November 2014

1 1
ln qe = ln K − ln Ce 6.93 2.76 0.9924 0.31
n n
Henderson n k R2 SSE
ln[− ln(1 − Ce )] = ln K + n ln qe 1.256 8.818 0.9887 0.56

25

20

15
qe

10

0
3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5
ln Ce

Figure 7. Temkin adsorption isotherm of COD on CNT (color figure available online).

where B = RT/b and A are the constants. A is the equilibrium binding constant (L/g)
corresponding to the maximum binding energy and constant B is related to the heat of
adsorption. A plot of qe against ln Ce enables the determination of the isotherm constants
A and B (Figure 7). Values of A and B as obtained are shown in Table 3 along with the
correlation coefficient value.
The Harkins–Jura adsorption isotherm can be expressed as (15):
   
1 A 1
= − log Ce (9)
q2e B A

That accounts to multilayer adsorption can be explained with the existence of a heteroge-
neous pore distribution. 1/q2 versus log Ce Harkins–Jura isotherm is given in Figure 8.
 Removal of COD from dairy wastewater 845

0.0042

1/qe2

0.0021

0
Downloaded by [Florida Atlantic University] at 09:13 19 November 2014

1.4 1.7 2 2.3

log Ce

Figure 8. Harkins-jura adsorption isotherm of COD on CNT (color figure available online).

3.08

2.99
ln qe

2.9

2.81

2.72
–5.4 –4.4 –3.4
ln(1/Ce)

Figure 9. Halsey adsorption isotherm of COD on CNT (color figure available online).

Isotherm constants and correlation coefficients are summarized in Table 3. Halsey and
Henderson adsorption isotherm can be given as equations (10) and (11), respectively:

    
1 1
ln qe = ln K − ln Ce (10)
n n

ln[− ln(1 − Ce )] = ln K + n ln qe (11)

These equations are suitable for multilayer adsorption. Especially, the fitting of these equa-
tions can be used heteroporous solids. ln qe versus ln 1/Ce Halsey and ln[−ln(1−Ce )] ver-
sus ln qe plots of Henderson adsorption isotherms are given in Figures 8 and 9, respectively
(30). Isotherm constants and correlation coefficients are summarized in Table 3.
 846 O. Moradi and M. S. Maleki

1.8

1.6

1.4

1.2

1
ln[-ln(1-Ce)]

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
Downloaded by [Florida Atlantic University] at 09:13 19 November 2014

2.75 2.8 2.85 2.9 2.95 3 3.05

ln qe

Figure 10. Henderson adsorption isotherm of COD on CNT (color figure available online).

3.7. Error function

The relative model parameters, the values of which express the surface properties and affin-
ity of CNT are estimated by non-linear regression analysis and are tabulated in Tables 1 and
2 with the Sum Squares Errors (SSE). The sum squares errors between the experimental and
predicted value are calculated using equation (12). In equation (12), the subscripts meas and
calc show the experimental and calculated values, respectively (25).


n
 2
qe,calc − qe,meas i (12)
i=1

On the basis of sum squares errors in Tables 2 and 3, the adsorption equilibrium data of
ammonium ions fitted very well to the Langmuir model for carbon nanotube. Moreover,
the Halsey and Freundlich models were also found to satisfactorily describe the adsorption
isotherms of COD over the whole concentration ranges studied with the sum squares
errors values lower than 0.50%. However the other models of Henderson, Harkins-Jura
and Temkin exhibited a poor fit to the sorption data of COD with sum squares errors more
than 0.50% (31).

4. Conclusion
This study investigated the removal of COD from dairy wastewater by CNTs. The amount
of COD adsorbed per unit CNTs mass increased with increase in initial COD concen-
tration, CNT dosage and temperature and decreased with increase in pH. Langmuir,
Freundlich, Temkin, Harkins–Jura, Handerson and Halsey equation were used to describe
the adsorption of COD onto carbon nanotubes. Langmiur, Freundlich and Halsey model
have high correlation coefficient than the other model in the studied concentration. The
SSE values of Langmuir, Freundlich and Halsey models were 0.22%, 0.43% and 0.31%,
respectively.
 Removal of COD from dairy wastewater 847

References
1. Demirel, B., Yenigun, O., and Onay, T.T. (2005) Anaerobic treatment of dairy wastewaters: A
review. J. Process Biochem., 4(8): 2583–2595.
2. Perle, M., Kimchie, S., and Shelef, G. (1995) Some biochemical aspects of the anaerobic
degradation of dairy wastewater. J. Water Res., 29: 1549–1954.
3. Baskaran, K., Palmowski, L.M., and Watson, B.M. (2000) Wastewater reuse and treatment
options for the dairy industry. J. Water Sci. Technol., 3: 85–91.
4. Garrido, J.M., Omil, F., Arrojo, B., Mendez, R., and Lema, J.M. (2001) Carbon and nitrogen
removal from a wastewater of an industrial dairy laboratory with a coupled anaerobic filter-
sequencing batch reactor system. J. Water Sci. Technol., 43(3): 249–256.
5. Metcalf & Eddy, Inc. (2004) Wastewater Engineering: Treatment Disposal Reuse, 4th ed.,
McGraw-Hill: Singapore.
6. Carta, F., Alvarez, P., Romero, F., and Pereda, J. (1999) Aerobic purification of dairy wastewater
Downloaded by [Florida Atlantic University] at 09:13 19 November 2014

in continuous regime; reactor with support. J. Process Biochem., 34: 613–619.

7. Sirianuntapiboon, S. and Tondee, T. (2000) Application of packed cage RBC system for treating
wastewater contaminated with nitrogenous compounds. Thammasat Int. J. Sci. Technol., 5(1):
28–39.
8. Cecen, F. and Orak, E. (1996) Nitrification of fertilizer wastewater in a bio-film reactor. J. Chem.
Technol. Biotechnol., 65: 229–238.
9. Ghaly, A.E. and Echiegu, E.A. (1993) Performance evaluation of an intermittent flow continuous
mix anaerobic reactor operating on dairy manure. Biomass Bioenerg., 4(3): 185–197.
10. Mall, I.D., Srivastava, V.C., and Agarwal, N.K. (2006) Removal of orange-G and methyl violet
dyes by adsorption onto bagasse fly ash – kinetic study and equilibrium isotherm analyses. Dyes
Pigment., 69: 210–223.
11. Srivastava, V.C., Mall, I.D., and Mishra, I.M. (2007) Adsorption thermodynamics and isosteric
heat of adsorption of toxic metal ions onto bagasse fly ash (BFA) and rice husk ash (RHA).
Chem. Eng. J., 132(1–3): 267–278.
12. Rao, M. and Bhole, A.G. (2002) Removal of organic matter from dairy industry wastewater using
low-cost adsorbents. J. Indian Chem. Eng. Sect. A, 44(1): 25–28.
13. Sarkar, B., Chakrabarti, P.P., Vijaykumar, A., and Kale, V. (2006) Wastewater treatment in dairy
industries – possibility of reuse. Desalination, 195: 141–152.
14. Kushwaha, J. P., Srivastava, V. C., and Mall, I. D. (2010) Treatment of dairy wastewater by
commercial activated carbon and bagasse fly ash: Parametric, kinetic and equilibrium modeling,
disposal studies. J. Bioresource Technology, 101: 3474–3483.
15. Long, R.Q. and Yang, R.T. (2001) Carbon nanotubes as superior sorbent for dioxin removal. J.
Am. Chem. Soc., 123: 2058–2059.
16. Trojanowicz, M. (2006) Analytical applications of carbon nanotubes: A review. Trend Anal.
Chem., 25: 480–489.
17. Peng, X., Li, Y., Luan, Z., Di, Z., Wang, H., Tian, B., and Jia, Z. (2003) Adsorption of 1,2-
dichlorobenzene fromwater to carbon nanotubes. Chem. Phys. Lett., 376: 154–158.
18. Lu, C., Chung, Y.L., and Chang, K.F. (2005) Adsorption of trihalomethanes from water with
carbon nanotubes. J. Water Res., 39: 1183–1189.
19. Yan, H., Gong, A., He, H., Zhou, J., Wei, Y., and Lv, L. (2006) Adsorption of microcystins by
carbon nanotubes. Chemosphere, 62: 142–148.
20. Li, Y.H., Wang, S., Cao, A., Zhao, D., Zhang, X., Xu, C., Luan, Z., et al. (2001) Adsorption of
fluoride from water by amorphous alumina supported on carbon nanotubes. J. Chem. Phys. Lett.,
350: 412–416.
21. Li, Y.H., Wang, S., Wei, J., Zhang, X., Xu, C., Luan, Z., Wu, D., and Wei, B. (2002) Lead
adsorption on carbon nanotubes. Chem. Phys. Lett., 357: 263–266.
22. Chen, C. and Wang, X. (2006) Adsorption of Ni(II) from aqueous solution using oxidized multi-
wall carbon nanotubes. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 45: 9144–9149.
23. Peng, X., Luan, Z., Ding, J., Di, Z., Li, Y., and Tian, B. (2005) Ceria nanoparticles supported on
carbon nanotubes for the removal of arsenate from water. Mater. Lett., 59: 399–403.
 848 O. Moradi and M. S. Maleki

24. Wu, C.H. (2007) Adsorption of reactive dye onto carbon nanotubes: Equilibrium, kinetics and
thermodynamics. J. Hazard. Mater., 144: 93–100.
25. Fugetsu, B., Satoh, S., Shiba, T., Mizutani, T., Lin, Y.B., Terui, N., Nodasaka, Y., et al. (2004)
Caged multi-walled carbon nanotubes as the adsorbents for affinity-based elimination of ionic
dyes. Environ. Sci. Technol., 38: 6890–6896.
26. American Public Health Association (APHA). (1989) Standard Methods for the Analysis of
Water and Wastewater, 17th ed., Author: Washington, DC.
27. Langmuir, I. (1918) The adsorption of gases on plane surfaces of glass, mica and platinum. J.
Am. Chem. Soc., 40: 1361–1403.
28. Freundlich, H. (1906) Uä ber die adsorption in loäsungen (Adsorption in solution). Z. Phys.
Chem., 57: 384–470.
29. Hall, H.R., Eagleton, L.C., Acrivos, A., and Vermeulen, T. (1966) Pore- and solid-diffusion
kinetics in fixed-bed adsorption under constant-pattern conditions. I&EC Fundam., 5: 212–223.
30. Basar, C. A. (2006) Applicability of the various adsorption models of three dyes adsorption onto
Downloaded by [Florida Atlantic University] at 09:13 19 November 2014

activated carbon prepared waste apricot. J. Hazardous Materials B, 135: 232–241.

31. Foo, K.Y. and Hameed, B.H. (2010) Insights into the modeling of adsorption isotherm systems.
Chemical Engineering J., 156: 2–10.