A raw lignitic coal from Soma, Turkey was investigated to determine its potential as an adsorbent for phenol removal from wastewaters. Kinetic batch tests demonstrated that phenol could be completely removed from solution given sufficient solids loading and reaction time. The adsorption capacity of 10 mg/g obtained with the lignite is low compared to those achievable with activated carbons (around 300 mg/g). However, when normalized for the surface area, the adsorption capacity was much larger for the lignite (1.3 mg/m 2 ) than that generally observed with activated carbons (0.05-0.3 mg/m 2 ). Hydrogen-bonding of the phenolic -OH with the oxygen sites on the lignite surface is the most likely mechanism for adsorption. Though water molecules also have affinity for the same oxygen sites, lateral benzene ring interactions make phenol adsorption energetically more favorable. Since phenol molecules adsorbed in this fashion would project their benzene rings into solution, formation of a second layer through the action of the dispersive π-π interactions between the benzene rings is very likely. Residual water quality with respect to major elements and heavy metals was within acceptable limits defined by the ASTM standards. Dissolution of organic matter from the lignite was also observed to be negligible.

The effect of bovine carbonic anhydrase (CA) on calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) crystallization was investigated. A new method was developed to estimate the biocatalytic activity of CA in alkaline solution. The CA was immobilized within polyurethane (PU) foam, and compared its biocatalytic activity with the free-CA and bare-PU foam. A minireactor was created in a calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH) 2 ) solution in order to control the CO 2 transfer rate, and reproducible results were obtained. It was found that the free-CA lost its activity in less than 6 min at pH 12.5 in alkaline Ca(OH) 2 solution. The CaCO 3 crystallization rates for the immobilized-CA were found to be a U-shape, relatively lower at lower immobilized-CA amounts compared to those for the free-CA and bare-PU foam and higher when the amount of immobilized-CA increased. It was concluded that a higher immobilized-CA amount is required to accelerate the CaCO 3 crystallization rates in Ca(OH) 2 solution.