Research Article
Thermodynamic, Nonlinear Kinetic, and Isotherm Studies of
Bisphenol A Uptake onto Chemically Activated Carbons
Derived from Safou (Dacryodes edulis) Seeds
Cyrille Donlifack Atemkeng ,
1
Arnaud Kamdem Tamo ,
2,3,4
Giscard Doungmo ,
5
Liouna Adoum Amola ,
1
Julio Jimmy Kouanang Ngouoko ,
1
and Th´ eophile Kamgaing
1
1
Research Unit of Noxious Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science,
University of Dschang, P.O. Box 67, Dschang, Cameroon
2
Laboratory for Sensors, Institute of Microsystems Engineering-IMTEK, University of Freiburg, Georges-Koehler-Allee 103,
Freiburg 79110, Germany
3
Freiburg Materials Research Center, University of Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Strasse 21, Freiburg 79104, Germany
4
Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies FIT, University of Freiburg, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
5
Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Christian-Albrechts-Universit¨ at Zu Kiel, Max-Eyth Street 2, Kiel 24118, Germany
Correspondence should be addressed to Cyrille Donlifack Atemkeng; cyrcyrille@gmail.com and ´ eophile Kamgaing;
theokamgaing@yahoo.fr
Received 13 July 2022; Revised 30 August 2022; Accepted 15 September 2022; Published 7 October 2022
Academic Editor: Rabia Rehman
Copyright © 2022 Cyrille Donlifack Atemkeng et al. is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons
Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.
e interest of this work is to evaluate the possibility of using safou seeds to develop a new low-cost adsorbent and study its
application to remove bisphenol A from an aqueous solution for a sustainable and ecological use of this biomass. is was done by
optimizing some parameters that influence the adsorption process. e central composite design with four centre points was used to
optimize the process variables. e concentration of bisphenol A solution, adsorbent dosage, stirring time, and solution pH on the
adsorption capacity were considered, while the response measured was the quantity adsorbed. e activated carbon obtained by
treatment with H
2
SO
4
was named NSST and that obtained by treatment with H
3
PO
4
was named NSPT. XRD revealed an amorphous
character for the ACs, and EDXS showed they are mainly carbonaceous. Under the optimal adsorption conditions, NSPT showed the
best performance. Correlation coefficients R
2
and R
2
adj
were of 85.13 and 69.12% for NSPTand 83.71 and 66.17% for NSST. A pseudo-
second-order nonlinear kinetic model best described the adsorption kinetic of BPA removal by the ACs. Langmuir’s isotherm best
described the adsorption of BPA onto both adsorbents. ermodynamic studies suggested an exothermic and physisorption process.
1. Introduction
Water is the natural resource particularly used in our ev-
eryday life and mostly for industrial processes. After use, its
release into the environment in more or less highly polluted
residual form poses a serious threat to the aquatic fauna
because it accumulates in their organisms due to their non-
or low biodegradability. ese chemicals include endocrine
disruptor compounds among which is bisphenol A (BPA).
e latter is classified as a priority pollutant by the European
Union and the United States Environmental Protection
Agency. Also known as 4,4’-(propane-2,2-diyl)diphenol,
BPA is an emerging contaminant that is often detected in
natural waters at levels of ng/L or μg/L, making it a trace
organic contaminant. It is obtained by the reaction between
two equivalents of phenol and one equivalent of acetone.
is compound is widely applied to produce plastics, resins,
and other materials [1]. Bisphenol A, found in tap water,
surface water, air, and foodstuffs in considerable quantities
[1–3], is now part of the so emerging pollutants. It is capable
Hindawi
Journal of Chemistry
Volume 2022, Article ID 7717148, 17 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/7717148