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ABSTRACT
Like all industrial areas the Algiers Refinery-SONATRACH is one of our country’s vital
production units, presents a lot of the time a threat to the environment, seeing the waste and the
discharges from the latter. Despite the efforts made to improve the efficiency of the treatment of
discharged water, the results are still insufficient in view of the demands of those responsible for the
preservation of the environment on the one part and in relation to the means and interest of
SONATRACH for the preservation of our environment on other part.
Our modest work is part of a project to improve the quality of the oily water treatment process in
primary goal is elimination of the hydrocarbons to better preserve aquatic environments and the
environment. For the achievement of this goal two sub-objectives have been identified, the first is
the valorization of local agricultural waste by the preparation of activated coal based on
lignocellulosic waste (date stones) by a carbonization of the raw material at 600°C and a chemical
activation by H 3 PO 4 phosphoric acid. This coal was characterized by different physicochemical
techniques, texturing by scanning electron microscope SEM, and by phenol adsorption (Aldrich,
85% purity). Under optimal operating conditions a maximum adsorption capacity of 24.33 mg/g
was found. The adsorption isotherm on the prepared activated coal is "type L" and is compatible
with the Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models. The adsorption kinetics was verified by the
pseudo first order model.
The second is the study of the efficiency of the combination between the adsorption treatments on
activated coal that was prepared and the treatment by heterogeneous photocatalysis, using TiO 2 as a
catalyst, in the removal of phenol from the oily waters of the Algiers refinery. The results showed
100% phenol reduction efficiency, this combination was also reacted on the removal of total
hydrocarbons with an efficiency of 94.41%.
Key words: date stones, chemical activation, activated coal, adsorption, hydrocarbons, phenol,
catalyst TiO 2 , heterogeneous photocatalysis.
ABSTRACT
Like all industrial areas the Algiers Refinery-SONATRACH is one of our country’s vital
production units, presents a lot of the time a threat to the environment, seeing the waste and the
discharges from the latter. Despite the efforts made to improve the efficiency of the treatment of
discharged water, the results are still insufficient in view of the demands of those responsible for the
preservation of the environment on the one part and in relation to the means and interest of
SONATRACH for the preservation of our environment on other part.
Our modest work is part of a project to improve the quality of the oily water treatment process in
primary goal is elimination of the hydrocarbons to better preserve aquatic environments and the
environment. For the achievement of this goal two sub-objectives have been identified, the first is
the valorization of local agricultural waste by the preparation of activated coal based on
lignocellulosic waste (date stones) by a carbonization of the raw material at 600°C and a chemical
activation by H 3 PO 4 phosphoric acid. This coal was characterized by different physicochemical
techniques, texturing by scanning electron microscope SEM, and by phenol adsorption (Aldrich,
85% purity). Under optimal operating conditions a maximum adsorption capacity of 24.33 mg/g
was found. The adsorption isotherm on the prepared activated coal is "type L" and is compatible
with the Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models. The adsorption kinetics was verified by the
pseudo first order model.
The second is the study of the efficiency of the combination between the adsorption treatments on
activated coal that was prepared and the treatment by heterogeneous photocatalysis, using TiO 2 as a
catalyst, in the removal of phenol from the oily waters of the Algiers refinery. The results showed
100% phenol reduction efficiency, this combination was also reacted on the removal of total
hydrocarbons with an efficiency of 94.41%.
Key words: date stones, chemical activation, activated coal, adsorption, hydrocarbons, phenol,
catalyst TiO 2 , heterogeneous photocatalysis.