J.N. Sahu

Remediation technologies for heavy metal contaminated groundwater.

The contamination of groundwater by heavy metal, originating either from natural soil sources or from anthropogenic sources is a matter of utmost concern to the public health. Remediation of contaminated groundwater is of highest priority since billions of people all over the world use it for drinking purpose. In this paper, thirty five approaches for groundwater treatment have been reviewed and classified under three large categories viz chemical, biochemical/biological/biosorption and physico-chemical treatment processes. Comparison tables have been provided at the end of each process for a better understanding of each category. Selection of a suitable technology for contamination remediation at a particular site is one of the most challenging job due to extremely complex soil chemistry and aquifer characteristics and no thumb-rule can be suggested regarding this issue. In the past decade, iron based technologies, microbial remediation, biological sulphate reduction and various adsorbents played versatile and efficient remediation roles. Keeping the sustainability issues and environmental ethics in mind, the technologies encompassing natural chemistry, bioremediation and biosorption are recommended to be adopted in appropriate cases. In many places, two or more techniques can work synergistically for better results. Processes such as chelate extraction and chemical soil washings are advisable only for recovery of valuable metals in highly contaminated industrial sites depending on economical feasibility.

Response surface modeling and optimization of chromium(VI) removal from aqueous solution using Tamarind wood activated carbon in batch process

The present paper discusses response surface methodology (RSM) as an efficient approach for predictive model building and optimization of chromium adsorption on developed activated carbon. In this work the application of RSM is presented for optimizing the removal of Cr(VI) ions from aqua solutions using activated carbon as adsorbent. All experiments were performed according to statistical designs in order to develop the predictive regression models used for optimization. The optimization of adsorption of chromium on activated carbon was carried out to ensure a high adsorption efficiency at low adsorbent dose and high initial concentration of Cr(VI). While the goal of adsorption of chromium optimization was to improve adsorption conditions in batch process, i.e., to minimize the adsorbent dose and to increase the initial concentration of Cr(VI). In the adsorption experiments a laboratory developed Tamarind wood activated carbon made of chemical activation (zinc chloride) was used. A 2(4) full factorial central composite design experimental design was employed. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed a high coefficient of determination value (R(2)=0.928) and satisfactory prediction second-order regression model was derived. Maximum chromium removal efficiency was predicted and experimentally validated. The optimum adsorbent dose, temperature, initial concentration of Cr(VI) and initial pH of the Cr(VI) solution were found to be 4.3g/l, 32 degrees C, 20.15 mg/l and 5.41 respectively. Under optimal value of process parameters, high removal (>89%) was obtained for Cr(VI).

Optimization of production conditions for activated carbons from Tamarind wood by zinc chloride using response surface methodology.

The low-cost activated carbon was prepared from Tamarind wood an agricultural waste material, by chemical activation with zinc chloride. Activated carbon adsorption is an effective means for reducing organic chemicals, chlorine, heavy metals and unpleasant tastes and odours in effluent or colored substances from gas or liquid streams. Central composite design (CCD) was applied to study the influence of activation temperature, chemical ratio of zinc chloride to Tamarind wood and activation time on the chemical activation process of Tamarind wood. Two quadratic models were developed for yield of activated carbon and adsorption of malachite green oxalate using Design-Expert software. The models were used to calculate the optimum operating conditions for production of activated carbon providing a compromise between yield and adsorption of the process. The yield (45.26 wt.%) and adsorption (99.9%) of the activated carbon produced at these operating conditions showed an excellent agreement with the amounts predicted by the models.

Removal of Heavy Metals from Wastewater Using Carbon Nanotubes

The discovery of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and the prospect of developing novel carbon-based nanomaterials have attracted researchers worldwide. CNTs have great potential as a novel type of adsorbent due to their unique properties such as chemical stability, mechanical and thermal stability, and the high surface area, which leads to various applications including hydrogen storage, protein purification and water treatment. Removal of heavy metals from industrial wastewater leads to the biggest challenge nowadays. To reduce environmental problems, the CNTs are promising candidates for the adsorption of heavy metals. In this study, extremely brief summaries of liquid pollutant purification are reviewed.

Column performance of granular activated carbon packed bed for Pb(II) removal

The excessive release of lead from lead acid batteries, smelting plant into the environment is a major concern worldwide. Adsorption process is among the most effective techniques for lead removal from wastewater and activated carbon has been widely used as an adsorbent. In this paper an attempt has been made to investigate the adsorption behaviour of Pb(II) from aqueous systems onto granular activated carbon using the batch mode and continuous mode in a packed bed column with more successive service and regeneration. The experiments were performed at constant temperature and dimensions of column and packed bed of granular activated carbon with variation of flows through the bed and concentrations of lead solutions. Breakthrough points were found out for the adsorption of lead on the adsorbent using continuous-flow column operation by varying different operating parameters like hydraulic loading rate from 4 to 16 m(3)/h m(2) and feed concentrates from 20 to 60 mg/l. Granular activated carbon column regeneration using 0.5 M concentration of HNO(3) has been investigated. Results indicate encouraging performance towards removal of Pb(II).

Removal of methylene blue from wastewater using fly ash as an adsorbent by hydrocyclone

The excessive release of color into the environment is a major concern worldwide. Adsorption process is among the most effective techniques for color removal from wastewater and fly ash has been widely used as an adsorbent. Therefore, this study was carried out to understand the adsorption behavior of methylene blue from aqueous systems onto fly ash using the continuous mode. Continuous mode sorption experiments were carried out to remove methylene blue from its aqueous solutions in hydrocyclone equipment. The experiments were performed at constant temperature and dimensions of hydrocyclone with variation of flows through the equipment, concentrations of methylene blue solutions and fly ash concentration, respectively. A maximum removal of 58.24% was observed at adsorbent dosage of 900 mg/l at pH 6.75 for an initial methylene blue concentration of 65 mg/l.

Bioethanol production from fermentable sugar juice.

Bioethanol production from renewable sources to be used in transportation is now an increasing demand worldwide due to continuous depletion of fossil fuels, economic and political crises, and growing concern on environmental safety. Mainly, three types of raw materials, that is, sugar juice, starchy crops, and lignocellulosic materials, are being used for this purpose. This paper will investigate ethanol production from free sugar containing juices obtained from some energy crops such as sugarcane, sugar beet, and sweet sorghum that are the most attractive choice because of their cost-effectiveness and feasibility to use. Three types of fermentation process (batch, fed-batch, and continuous) are employed in ethanol production from these sugar juices. The most common microorganism used in fermentation from its history is the yeast, especially, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, though the bacterial species Zymomonas mobilis is also potentially used nowadays for this purpose. A number of factors related to the fermentation greatly influences the process and their optimization is the key point for efficient ethanol production from these feedstocks.

Performance of a modified multi-stage bubble column reactor for lead(II) and biological oxygen demand removal from wastewater using activated rice husk.

The excessive release of wastewater into the environment is a major concern worldwide. Adsorption is the one of the most effective technique for treatment of wastewater. In this work activated carbon prepared from rice husk has been used as an adsorbent. In the present investigation a three phase modified multi-stage bubble column reactor (MMBCR) has been designed to remove lead and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) from wastewater by means of its adsorption onto the surface of activated rice husk. The multi-staging has been achieved by hydrodynamically induced continuous bubble generation, breakup and regeneration. Under optimum conditions, maximum lead and BOD reduction achieved using activated rice husk was 77.15% and 19.05%, respectively. Results showed MMBCR offered appreciated potential benefits for lead removal from wastewater and BOD removal, even this extent of removal is encouraging and the MMBCR can be used a pretreatment unit before subjecting the wastewater to biological treatment.

Utilization of palm oil sludge through pyrolysis for bio-oil and bio-char production.

In this study, pyrolysis technique was utilized for converting palm oil sludge to value added materials: bio-oil (liquid fuel) and bio-char (soil amendment). The bio-oil yield obtained was 27.4±1.7 wt.% having a heating value of 22.2±3.7 MJ/kg and a negligible ash content of 0.23±0.01 wt.%. The pH of bio-oil was in alkaline region. The bio-char yielded 49.9±0.3 wt.%, which was further investigated for sorption efficiency by adsorbing metal (Cd(2+) ions) from water. The removal efficiency of Cd(2+) was 89.4±2%, which was almost similar to the removal efficiency of a commercial activated carbon. The adsorption isotherm was well described by Langmuir model. Therefore, pyrolysis is proved as an efficient tool for palm oil sludge management, where the waste was converted into valuable products.

Statistical modelling and optimization of hydrolysis of urea to generate ammonia for flue gas conditioning

The present study is concerned with the technique of producing a relatively small quantity of ammonia which can be used safely in a coal-fired thermal power plant to improve the efficiency of electrostatic precipitator by removing the suspended particulate material mostly fly ash, from the flue gas. In this work hydrolysis of urea has been conducted in a batch reactor at atmospheric pressure to study the different reaction variables such as reaction temperature, initial concentration and stirring speed on the conversion by using design expert software. A 2(3) full factorial central composite design (CCD) has been employed and a quadratic model equation has been developed. The study reveals that conversion increases exponentially with an increase in temperature, stirring speed and feed concentration. However the stirring speed has the greatest effect on the conversion with concentration and temperature exerting least and moderate effect respectively. The values of equilibrium conversion obtained through the developed models are found to agree well with their corresponding experimental counterparts with a satisfactory correlation coefficient of 93%. The developed quadratic model was optimized using quadratic programming to maximize conversion of urea within experimental range studied. The optimum production condition has been found to be at the temperature of 130 degrees C, feed concentration of 4.16 mol/l and stirring speed of 400 rpm and the corresponding conversion, 63.242%.