Abstract
In the present study, adsorption of colour and other pollutants from agro-based paper mill effluent onto fabricated coal fly ash nanoparticles (CFA-N) have been investigated. Response surface methodology was applied to evaluate the operational conditions for maximum ouster of colour from effluent by nano structured CFA-N. Maximum reduction in colour (92.45%) and other pollutants were obtained at optimum conditions: 60 min interaction time, 60 g/L adsorbent dosage and 80 rpm agitation rate. The regression coefficient values (adjusted R2 = 0.7169; predicted R2 = 0.7539) established harmony between predicted and the experimental data. The adsorption equilibrium results matched perfectly with both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms with maximum adsorption capacity of 250 platinum-cobalt/g. Additionally, the efficacy of CFA-N was also assessed in a continuous column mode. Furthermore, the feasibility of treated effluent for irrigation purpose was checked by growing the plant Solanum lycopersicum. Overall, the findings demonstrated the outstanding role of inexpensive and abundantly available CFA-N in treatment of paper mill effluent to the required compliance levels.
Highlights
The need of water for fulfilment of basic requirements has increased with the rise in industrialization and population
Apart from being coloured, these effluents are identified by high pH, odour, chemical oxygen demand, biological oxygen demand, total suspended solids, and chlorinated organic compounds like adsorbable organic halides (AOX), furans and dioxins (Singh & Chandra, Zainith et al a)
The application of nano-sized fly ash in reduction of colour, along with other pollutants from wastewater, has not been investigated to our knowledge. To fill this reported research gap, the main objective of the present work was to explore the efficiency of nano-sized fly ash in colour removal from paper mill effluent in both batch and continuous column experiments
Summary
The need of water for fulfilment of basic requirements has increased with the rise in industrialization and population. According to the Central Pollution Control Board, India, the pulp and paper industry is considered as one of the largest patrons of water and is positioned sixth in adulteration of the environment after cement, leather, steel, textile and oil industries (Ashrafi et al ). Pulp and paper industries require large amounts of water during manufacturing, and release equivalent amounts of coloured wastewater generated during various processes of paper making. Colour in pulp and paper effluent is because of the presence of synthetic dyes, tannins, wood extracts, and lignin and its derivatives (Lacorte et al ). There is an urge to develop methods that are effective, profitable and eco-friendly for the treatment of such effluents
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