Removal of naphthalene from petrochemical wastewater streams using carbon nanoporous adsorbent

Ordered mesoporous carbon, OMC, was synthesized using ordered mesoporous silica MCM-48 as hard template, the structural order and textural properties of the synthesized materials were studied by XRD, SEM, and nitrogen adsorption–desorption analysis. Adsorption of naphthalene over various porous adsorbents such as OMC, MCM-48, and commercial activated carbon was studied from solutions with different concentration at ambient temperature (25 ± 2 °C) and pH 7. The adsorption isotherms of naphthalene were in agreement with a Langmuir model, moreover, the uptake capacity of naphthalene followed the order: OMC > commercial activated carbon > mesoporous silica (MCM-48).