The recovery of surfactants from organic mediums is of great economic and environmental interests in the field of petrochemicals sector. The aim of this study was to recover poly-dispersed nonionic surfactant (TX-100) from organic medium by the use of dehydrated and rehydrated kaolin. It was found that the presence of water after kaolin rehydration decreases considerably the amount of TX-100 adsorption from 28.7 μmol.g−1 onto dehydrated kaolin to 23.4 μmol.g−1 onto rehydrated kaolin. The estimation of the number of statistical layers of water deposited on kaolin was observed to be about 7 to 9. The effect of type of solvents (heptane, cyclohexane and benzene) on the adsorption onto rehydrated kaolin revealed a reduction in the adsorbed quantity; the adsorbed amounts were found to be 28.7 μmol.g−1, 26.7 μmol.g−1 and 24.2 μmol.g−1 in heptane, cycloheptane and benzene phases, respectively. On the other hand, it was observed that a temperature increased from 20 °C to 35 °C and 45 °C negatively affects the adsorption of TX-100 onto dehydrated and/or hydrated kaolin in heptane medium.
Hexavalent chromium pollution from industrial waste water is a serious problem as it can cause adverse effects on the environment. Several methods are used to reduce the harmful effects of this pollutant, especially physico-chemical methods, such as adsorption technology. The present study aims to remove Cr (VI) from industrial sources in a fixed-bed column of activated carbon. The experiments were carried out at natural pH and temperature with a flow rate (5, 10, and 20 mL/min) and bed height (3.5 cm). Breakthrough curves for feed concentrations (0.01, 0.03, and 0.05 mol/L) were investigated. The results indicated a marked decrease up to 99%. The value of the flow constant for the Thomas model decreased with the increase in the concentration of the incoming substance, but increased with the increase in the flow rate.