Sorption of levulinic acid onto weakly basic anion exchangers: equilibrium and kinetic studies

The equilibrium and dynamics of levulinic acid sorption on two weakly basic anion exchangers, in free base form, in single-component aqueous solutions were investigated. Adsorption isotherms such as Langmuir, Sips, Radke-Prausnitz, and Toth were applied to correlate the experimental data in the temperature range 285-315 K. Modeling results showed that the Toth model is the best one to correlate the sorption isotherms. The resulting Toth equations were used with the Clausius-Clapeyron equation to determine the isosteric heat of sorption. The sorption kinetics was experimentally measured via a completely stirred finite-bath batch experiment under different initial concentrations and at varying solution temperatures. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Elovich equation were used to represent the kinetic data and the equation parameter values were also evaluated. The pseudo-second-order equation cannot simulate the experimental kinetic data, while the Elovich equation fitted the sorption dynamic data very well under all the operating conditions studied. Finally, the apparent activation energy of sorption was also determined.