Residual Organic Compound Removal from Aqueous Solution Using Commercial Coconut Shell Activated Carbon Modified by a Mixture of Seven Metal Salts Huu Tap Van & Thi Thu Phuong Bui & Lan Huong Nguyen Received: 31 March 2018 /Accepted: 9 August 2018 # Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2018 Abstract The modified activated carbon (MAC) de- rived from commercial coconut shell activated carbon (AC) with mixture of seven metal salts was used as an adsorbent to remove target residual organic compound (sucrose) from aqueous solutions in batch modes. The results indicated that the highest adsorption capacity of sucrose onto MAC reached when the AC was modified at the ratio of impregnation of AC with mixture of seven metal salts, including nitrate silver (AgNO 3 ), manga- nese nitrate (Mn (NO 3 ) 2 ), potassium bichromate (K 2 Cr 2 O 7 ), nitrate cobalt (Co (NO 3 ) 2 ·6H 2 O), nitrate copper (Cu (NO 3 ) 2 ·3H 2 O), nitrate nickel (Ni (NO 3 ) 2 ·6H 2 O) and nitrate iron (Fe (NO 3 ) 2 ·9H 2 O) of 3% (w/w). The most appropriate conditions for sucrose adsorption onto MAC in batch experiments obtained at pH 7, contact time of 120 min, 800 mg MAC/50 mL of sucrose solution with initial concentration of 1500 mg/ L. At this condition, the highest adsorption capacity of sucrose onto MAC reached 28.28 mg/g. The Langmuir, Freundlich, and Sips adsorption isothermal equilibrium models can adequately describe the adsorption proper- ties of sucrose on MAC. The adsorption kinetic of sucrose onto MAC obeyed pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order models with the chemical sorption process. The saturated MAC was recovered by heat from an oven. The highest recovery efficiency of satu- rated MAC obtained at 180 °C in 120 min. The highest adsorption capacity of sucrose onto recovered MAC was 24.31 mg/g, appropriately adsorption capacity of initial MAC. Keywords MAC . Residual organic compound . Adsorption capacity . Adsorption isotherm . Adsorption kinetics 1 Introduction Nowadays, organic compounds generated from various industrial wastewaters, such as pharmaceuticals, hor- mones, and consumer product chemicals (Schaider et al. 2017), and agricultural, including PCBs, persistent organic pollutants, herbicides, phenols, polycyclic aro- matic hydrocarbons (PAHs), aliphatic, dissolved organ- ic compounds, and heterocyclic (Zheng et al. 2013; Jiménez-Becerril et al. 2016). In alkaline medium, wastewater contains low molecular weight hemicellu- loses, sugars, organic acids, and several compounds in pulping wastewater (Covinich et al. 2017). And the organic compounds with complex characteristics are daily discharged into receiving sources causing serious Water Air Soil Pollut (2018) 229:292 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-018-3953-4 H. T. Van Faculty of Environment and Earth Science, Thai Nguyen University of Sciences (TNUS), Tan Thinh ward, Thai Nguyen city, Vietnam T. T. P. Bui Institute of Physics, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet road, Hanoi city, Vietnam L. H. Nguyen (*) Faculty of Environment – Natural Resources and Climate Change, Ho Chi Minh City University of Food Industry (HUFI), 140 Le Trong Tan Street, Tay Thanh Ward, Tan Phu District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam e-mail: lanhuongba@gmail.com