The adsorption of phenolic compound resorcinol on activated carbons prepared from Moringa oleifera (Drumstick bark) has
been investigated. Activated carbon was prepared by impregnating Moringa oleifera with 50% phosphoric acid in the ratio of
1:1 and 1:2(w/w), designated as MOAC1 and MOAC2. Equilibrium and isotherm studies were carried out. The influences of
variables such as contact time, initial concentration of resorcinol, carbon dosage in the solution on percentage adsorption and
adsorption capacity of the bark have been analysed. The equilibration time was found to be 4 h. Kinetics of resorcinol onto
activated carbons was checked for pseudo first order and pseudo second order model. It was found that the adsorption of
resorcinol follows pseudo second order kinetics for both MOAC1 and MOAC2. The isotherm data were correlated with
isotherm models, namely Langmuir and Freundlich. Adsorption isotherms were satisfactorily fitted by both the Langmuir and
Freundlich model for MOAC1 and MOAC2.
Keywords : Activated carbon, Phosphoric acid impregnation, Adsorption capacity, Isotherms