Interaction of p-aminophenol and p-nitrophenol with Bismuth, Lead and Manganese Ferrocyanides and Their Relevance to Environmental Issues

Present work has described an interaction of p-aminophenol and p-nitrophenol with bismuth, lead and manganese ferrocyanides and their relevance to environmental issues. Removal of p-aminophenol (PAP) and p-nitrophenol (PNP) from aqueous solution have been studied through adsorption on bismuth, lead and manganese ferrocyanides (125 micrometer British Sieve Standard mesh size) at pH range 1.0 – 10.0 and room temperature (27 ± 1
C). Potassium ferrocyanide, bismuth nitrate, lead nitrate, manganese chloride, pami nophenol, and pnitrophenol were obtained from BDH, Poole, UK. The progress of adsorption was followed spectrophotometrically by measuring the absorbance of PAP and PNP solutions at their corresponding
max 220 nm and 330 nm, respectively. At neutral pH, PNP was found to be more adsorbed than PAP on all three metal ferrocyanides studied. Manganese ferrocyanide and bismuth ferrocyanide were found to have maximum and minimum adsorption, respectively for both adsorbents. The adsorption followed the Langmuir type of adsorption in the concentration range of 10-4 to 10-5 mole L-1 of PAP and PNP solutions. The presented work has indicated the feasibility of using metal ferrocyanides for the removal of phenols and substituted phenols from potable and wastewater.