Analysis of aged refuse bio adsorbent for heavy metal removal in electroplating effluent

Abstract

ABSTRACT The electroplating process is a common method in the surface-finishing process that produces toxic industrial discharges containing nickel, cobalt, cadmium, chromium, lead, cyanide, copper, zinc and other chemical reagents. Without adequate treatment, the release of these harmful compounds into an aquatic environment can have major negative repercussions for biota as well as humans. Heavy metal cationic pollutants in high concentrations can cause major health problems. As a result, it is critical to effectively remove heavy metal ion pollutants from electroplating effluents. Hence, in this research, at room temperature, aged refuse has been used as an adsorbent, which is a solid waste from landfills that have stabilised after several years of placement and are treated with concentrated sulphuric acid, was investigated for metal removal efficiency. Contact time, starting ion concentration, adsorbent dosage, aqueous solution pH and agitation speed were all changed and evaluated to depict the effect they had on removal efficiency. The BET isotherms, multipoint BET and BJH pore size distribution were determined for the adsorbent during the BET analysis. From that, the surface area for the adsorbent was found to be 4.6 /g. For the experimental results, the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were compared and the Freundlich isotherm model agreed on good results. Finally, the adsorbent’s response surface methods for pH, time, dosage and agitation speed were compared, and the results indicated good agreement with the actual values.