Abstract
Heavy metals constitute some of the most dangerous pollutants of water, as they are toxic to humans, animals, and aquatic organisms. These metals are considered to be of major public health concern and, therefore, need to be removed. Adsorption is a common physico-chemical process used to remove heavy metals. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and suspended solids (SS) are associated pollutants in water systems that can interact with heavy metals during the treatment process. The interactions of DOC and SS during the removal of heavy metals by granular activated carbon were investigated in batch and fixed-bed column experiments. Batch adsorption studies indicated that Langmuir adsorption maxima for Pb, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Ni at pH 6.5 were 11.9, 11.8, 3.3, 2.0, and 1.8 mg/g, respectively. With the addition of humic acid (HA) (DOC representative), they were 7.5, 3.7, 3.2, 1.6, and 2.5 mg/g, respectively. In the column experiment, no breakthrough (complete removal) was obtained for Pb and Cu, but adding HA provided a breakthrough in removing these metals. For Zn, Cd and Ni, this breakthrough occurred even without HA being added. Adding kaolinite (representative of SS) had no effect on Pb and Cu, but it did on the other metals.
Highlights
Heavy metals, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and suspended solids (SS) are serious pollutants of water
At a pH level close to that of storm waters the removal of heavy metals by the Granular activated carbon (GAC) column decreased in the order of Cu, Pb > Zn > Cd, Ni
This outcome was consistent with the metals adsorption capacity when assessed by Langmuir adsorption isotherm
Summary
Heavy metals, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and suspended solids (SS) are serious pollutants of water. Heavy metals at high concentrations may cause neuro-behavioural disorders, mental retardation, various types of cancers, kidney damage, and can even cause death when humans are exposed to them in high concentrations [1]. They can adversely affect aquatic life in many ways [2]. Many countries have legislation and regulations governing the treatment of wastewater before it enters water bodies [3]. There are many treatment practices for removing pollutants from wastewater
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