Mercenaria mercenaria shell: Coagulation-flocculation studies on colour removal by response surface methodology and nephlometric kinetics of an industrial effluent

Abstract

A paint effluent was purified using coagulants derived from Mercenaria mercenaria (MM) by the Box Behnken design and the kinetic studies suggests a second order process. MM capably removes 76.6% colour and MMM 84.6% of colour both after 20 min. Carr’s index and surface area values 12.065 and 55.0 m2g−1 for MM improved respectively to 11.102 and 64 m2g−1 for MMM and account for the improved performance due to modification. Second order kinetic model of coagulation-flocculation process fitted better paint effluent treated data for studied coagulants.