Effectiveness of Fe, Mn, UV254 and Colour Removal from Pre-ozonated Groundwater Using Anthracite Coal

Abstract

This paper investigates the potential use of anthracite coal to remove Fe, Mn, UV254, and colour from pre-ozonated groundwater using batch experiment studies. Pre-ozonated groundwater samples were prepared in a laboratory to present the actual characteristics of groundwater samples. General characteristics for anthracite, as well as for groundwater samples, were examined. The influences of anthracite dosage, pH, agitation speed, and contact time on the reduction of tested parameters were discussed. Also, three adsorption isotherms (Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin), as well as kinetics models, were evaluated. Results demonstrated that the maximum removal of Fe (67%) occurred at 100 g of anthracite dosage, and no significant removal of Mn was observed. In addition, anthracite was capable of removing UV254 and colour using a dosage of 100 g. However, the maximum removal efficiency of colour was 76% using the same anthracite dosage of 100 g. The optimum shaking speed of 300 rpm resulted in the maximum removal efficiency of all parameters. The optimum pH was 7, which resulted in the maximum removal efficiency of Fe (40%), Mn (7%), UV254 (43%), and colour (50%). The optimum contact time was 90 min for all parameters with a dosage of 100 g which resulted in the removal efficiency of 54%, 52%, and 70% for Fe, Mn, UV254, and colour. The adsorption and kinetics models were well fitted with the experimental results. Overall, this study demonstrated that anthracite could be a good practical option for groundwater treatment. The strong iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) concentrations; is one of the big groundwater issues, causing reddish and blackish in the groundwater. Batch experimental works have been undertaken to investigate the applicability of anthracite as an alternative adsorbent to remove Fe, Mn, UV254, and colour from pre-ozonated groundwater. The application of ozone alone was less effective to remove these pollutants. At the optimum pH value of 7 and 90 minutes of contact time, the adsorption and kinetics models were fit well with the experimental results. The study demonstrated that ozonation with anthracite could be a good practical option for groundwater treatment.