Abstract
In this study, adsorption of NO3- -N and PO43--P on granular activated charcoal (GAC) was investigated depending on pH, agitation time, GAC dosage, adsorption capacity and adsorption isotherms by employing batch adsorption type. The GAC was characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TG-DTA), scanning electron micrograph coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) and BET surface area analyzer. The GAC exhibited nearly similar adsorption equilibrium time. Both NO3--N and PO43—P appeared to approach equilibrium after approximately 4 h of agitation time. In the adsorption equilibrium, the removal efficiencies of NO3- -N and PO43--P were found to be 14.6-66.0 % and 52.4-99.0 %, respectively. The adsorption data for NO3--N and PO43--P was correlated to Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm model and the equilibrium data was fitted well to the Langmuir isotherm model due to their higher correlation coefficient (R2) value. The Langmuir adsorption capacity was 1.54 and 2.56 mg g-1 for NO3--N and PO43--P, respectively, which suggests that the GAC is a good adsorbent for removal of NO3--N and PO43—P from water.
Highlights
Nitrogen and phosphorous have been usually considered to be limiting nutrients in relation to eutrophication of water bodies including reservoirs, lakes, streams, rivers, estuaries and coastal waters [1,2]
The observed adsorption data showed that granular activated charcoal (GAC) has a similar adsorption equilibrium time (4 h) for both NO3--N and PO43--P
The adsorption amount of NO3--N and PO43--P by GAC was dependant on the initial concentration
Summary
Nitrogen and phosphorous have been usually considered to be limiting nutrients in relation to eutrophication of water bodies including reservoirs, lakes, streams, rivers, estuaries and coastal waters [1,2]. The agricultural and industrial activities of human have continually inpoured them into water As a result, they have exceeded the specified acceptable limits in many countries of the world. A lot of studies have been introduced to the removal of nitrate and phosphate in wastewater using biological and chemical treatments over decades [3,4,5,6]. Biological treatments have shown unstable and insufficient efficiencies in removing nitrate and phosphate from wastewater. They have considerable difficulty in controlling microorganism due to the long-term biodegradation. Chemical treatments have been widely used as a viable alternative to biological treatments Their applicability of wastewater treatment has been limited due to the high cost of chemical additives and the production of chemical sludge
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