PhD Dissertation Empirical DATA

This study characterized PAHs at seven refinery locations, using untreated Main Header as reference, while six downstream matrices—API Separator, Heavy-Oil Pond, Light-Oil Pond, Biological Pond, DAF Pond, and Treated-Water Pond—were tested in matched adsorption experiments. Five adsorbent formulations, combining commercial activated carbon, date-palm sheath, date-palm fiber, and a magnetite-containing palm phase, were evaluated at 3 g/L, 15-min contact time, and 35 °C. Five PAHs—dibenz[a,h]anthracene, indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene, naphthalene, phenanthrene, and pyrene—were selected for their contrasting molecular weights.

Nitrogen physisorption gave BET surface areas of 920 and 1150 m²/g for sheath and fiber, with pore volumes of 0.68 and 0.75 cm³/g. SEM revealed porous fibrous morphologies with 1–10 µm channels, and EDX confirmed carbon-rich surfaces. Across all six matrices, palm-containing formulations produced substantially lower PAHs than activated carbon alone.