Frontal analysis of aqueous phenol solutions in amberlite XAD-4 columns: Implications on the operation and design of solid phase extraction systems

Frontal analysis of aqueous phenol solutions in Amberlite XAD-4 columns was carried out at different experimental conditions. Operating variables such as the concentration, pH and ionic strength of the influent, the presence of competitor solutes, the fluid flow-rate and the column length were considered and their effects on the front profile, the phenol breakthrough volume and the equilibrium parameters were determined. The obtained results may explain some contradictory reported data concerning the recovery of hydrophilic compounds in solid phase extraction (SPE) systems using Amberlite XAD-2 or XAD-4 columns. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the adsorption parameters derived from a frontal analysis in an XAD-4 column are directly transposable to columns of different sizes (at the analytical level). Therefore, the results of this study may also be used for prediction and/or design of a phenol SPE system adapted to a particular problem.