Effect of temperature and air flow rate on xylene removal from wastewater using packed column air stripper

Abstract

In this research, the effects of temperature and air flow rate on the removal efficiency of xylene from wastewater using packed column air stripper were investigated at a temperature range of 30 to 50°C and air-water ratios of 20 to 100. The quantities of xylene in effluent from the air stripper were determined using UV-visible spectrophotometer. The effects of increase in temperature on the percentage removal of xylene were found to be more significant at low temperatures (30-40°C) than at higher temperatures (45-50°C). Also, the effects of increase in water-air ratio on percentage removal of xylene were less significant at higher G/L ratio (80-100) and more significant at low G/L ratios (20-60), thus revealing a non-linear trend in the effect of temperature and air-water ratio on xylene removal.The result also indicates that xylene removal efficiency is greatly affected by column temperature and G/L ratio with the highest removal efficiency of 99.93 at temperature of 50°C and at G/L ratio of 100. © 2014 Penerbit UTM Press. All rights reserved.