Thesis (M.Eng.)--Chulalongkorn University, 2010

Mesoporous alumina was synthesized by sol-gel technique assisted by resorcinol/formaldehyde (RF) gel formation. After calcination of the RF-aluminium composite, alumina powders with high surface area and pore volume were obtained. The synthesized alumina had specific surface area of about 194.2 m2/g. Moreover, commercial alumina was also compared with the synthesized alumina. Surface modification of alumina by surfactant was done by using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as anionic surfactant. The adsorption isotherm of SDS on alumina surface, as well as effects of pH of solution during the adsorption and the initial SDS concentration was also studied. The surfactant-modified alumina (SMA) was used in the removal of diuron from water. Adsolubilization was found to have high effectiveness in herbicide removal because this technique could remove diuron rapidly and did not cause toxic intermediate. The various parameters were found to affect the adsolubilization, including pH of the solution, mass of SMA and the initial concentration of diuron.