Plating Wastewater Research Articles

Fine Bubble Pretreatment Technology for Compliance with Plating Wastewater Regulations

Fine Bubble Pretreatment Technology for Compliance with Plating Wastewater Regulations

Treatment of zinc plating wastewater by combination of electrocoagulation and ultrafiltration process.

In this study treatment of zinc plating wastewater by combination of electrocoagulation (EC) and ultrafiltration (UF) processes was investigated. The effect of operating parameters such as wastewater pH, flow rate and membrane pore size on zinc removal was investigated to optimize the EC-UF process. The results showed that zinc removal was pH dependent and optimum pH was 9.0. The zinc removal over 99% was achieved by the combined EC-UF process with both 50 and 100 kDa membranes at pH 9.0 and current density of 5 mA cm-2. Suspended solids and oil-grease were also removed completely by the combined EC-UF process. The EC-UF process proved to be a promising technology for the treatment and recycling of zinc plating wastewater.

Mg17Al12 phase in magnesium alloy waste facilitating the Ni2+ reduction in nickel plating wastewater

A process for recycling Ni2+ in Ni-plating wastewater was investigated. This study employed Mg alloy flash waste to reduce the Ni2+ in the wastewater into metallic Ni. Fine second-phase Mg17Al12 in a network is the critical point for promoting the reduction reaction of Ni2+. The microstructures of the Mg alloy flash scrap and the die-cast Mg alloy scrap waste fulfilled the requirement. The Mg17Al12 is like a catalyst for the quick reduction of the Ni2+ ions into pure Ni metal. Contrarily, pure Mg (not containing Mg17Al12 particles) and gravity-cast AZ91D Mg alloy (having coarse Mg17Al12 particles) were not suitable for being used for the Ni2+ wastewater treatment. Based on the above results and discussion, using the Mg alloy flash scrap waste for treating the laboratory-made Ni2+-containing wastewater, the wastewater initially with ∼5600 ppm of Ni2+ ions could be reduced to ∼20 ppm in 2 h. When applying the Mg alloy flash scrap for the Ni plating wastewater from industry, the concentration of Ni2+ was able to be reduced from ∼16,670 ppm to ∼1434 ppm in 10 min for the wastewater at 90 °C.

Application of the anion-exchange resin as a complementary technique to remove residual cyanide complexes in industrial plating wastewater after conventional treatment.

Cyanide is highly toxic and must be destroyed or removed before discharge into the environment. This study examined the ability of commercial anion-exchange resins to remove residual cyanide complexes from industrial plating wastewater as a complement to conventional treatment. Cyanide removal experiments were conducted with various initial concentrations, reaction times, and temperatures, and the presence of co-existing anions. The maximum cyanide removal capacity (Qm) of the Bonlite BAMB140 resin is 31.82 mg/g and effectively removes cyanide from aqueous solution within 30 min. The cyanide removal by the resin is an endothermic process and is affected by the presence of anions in industrial plating wastewater. The relative competitiveness observed in this study was sulfate > nitrate > chloride. A mixture of 0.05 M NaCl and NaOH regenerates resin for continuous reuse for 5 cycles. The Bonlite BAMB140 resin was able to remove residual cyanide complexes from industrial plating wastewater, but the removal capacity of the resin was reduced by more than three times in batch (9.94 mg/g) and column (6349.12 mg/L) systems. Based on the results, the anion-exchange resins are expected to be used as a complementary technique to remove residual cyanide complexes in industrial plating wastewater after conventional treatment.

Electrodialysis of metal plating wastewater with neutralization pretreatment: Separation efficiency and organic removal

Electrodialysis has been applied for treatment of industrial wastewater including metal electroplating. The wastewater from metal plating industries contains high concentrations of inorganics such as copper, nickel, and sodium. The ions in the feed were separated due to the electrical forces in the electrodialysis. The concentrate compartment is exposed to the elevated concentrations of the ions and yielded inorganic precipitations on the cation exchange membranes. The presence of organic matter in the metal plating wastewater affects complex interfacial reactions, which determines characteristics of inorganic scale fouling. The wastewater from a metal plating industry in practice was collected and the inorganic and organic compositions of the wastewater were analyzed. The performance of electrodialysis of the raw wastewater was evaluated and the effects of adjusting pH of the raw water were also measured. The integrated processes with neutralization and electrodialysis showed great removal of heavy metals sufficient to discharge to aquatic ecosystem. The organic matter in the raw water was also reduced by the neutralization, which might enhance removal performance and alleviate organic fouling in the integrated system.

Decomplexation of heterogeneous catalytic ozonation assisted with heavy metal chelation for advanced treatment of coordination complexes of Ni

Following the conventional physicochemical treatment of electroless nickel (Ni) plating wastewater (ENPW) in electroplating wastewater treatment plants, highly stable and recalcitrant coordination complexes of Ni (CCN) still remain. This results in various technical problems, leading to the treatment difficulty, poor wastewater biochemistry, and failure to meet effluent standards. Therefore, an efficient decomplexation system involving heterogeneous catalytic ozonation assisted with heavy metal chelation (O3/SAO3II-MDCR) was proposed in this study for the advanced treatment of CCN. The catalyst SAO3II was characterized by various methods, which revealed the mechanism of catalytic ozonation. Hydroxyl radicals (OH) and other reactive oxygen species (ROS) groups were detected, proving that catalytic ozonation was a complicated reaction process and also a foundation process of the entire system. These ROS are vital for decomplexation via heterogeneous catalytic ozonation of the system. During the catalytic decomplexation process via ozonation, CCN first underwent gradual decomposition from a highly stable macromolecular state to a volatile micromolecular state (or even completely mineralized state). Then Ni was chelated to form an insoluble and stable chelate via competitive coordination. The optimum conditions for the O3/SAO3II-MDCR system were determined by single factor static experiments. After treatment with the O3/SAO3II-MDCR system, the effluent concentration of total Ni was found to be <0.1 mg L−1, exhibiting a removal rate of up to 95.6% and achieving effective removal of total Ni from ENPW and stably meeting the discharge standard. O3/SAO3II-MDCR system can easily and hopefully be extended to practical engineering applications.

Flow velocity and cell pair number effect on current efficiency in plating wastewater treatment through electrodialysis

Electrodialysis has been used for treating toxic substances such as heavy metals and minimizing secondary environmental pollution problems effectively. However, electrodialysis depends on the operating parameters as well as fluid dynamics and electrical properties. This study provides design elements for the treatment of heavy metal-containing wastewater by electrodialysis. We found that the limiting current density (LCD) is proportional but not completely linear to the diluate concentration over a threshold value. In contrast, it is linear to the linear flow velocity for the whole range. As the number of cell pairs increases, because linear flow velocity and LCD increase, the removal efficiency of heavy metals also increases. Therefore, for highly concentrated wastewater, increasing the linear flow velocity, the applied voltage, and the number of cell pairs can effectively improve removal efficiency. It was found that the current efficiency is as low as 17% when the removal efficiency of heavy metals exceeds 95%. Thus, it is necessary to select an operating range that optimizes the operating and initial investment costs for the effective removal of heavy metals using electrodialysis.

Preparation of High-Performance CdS@C Catalyst Using Cd-Enriched Biochar Recycled From Plating Wastewater.

Biochar is widely used for the adsorptive removal of Cd from water and soil, but the Cd-enriched biochar produced carries a risk of secondary pollution. In this work, biochar derived from rice straw was used to adsorb Cd from plating wastewater. The Cd-enriched biochar showed a saturated adsorption capacity of about 63.5 mg/g and could be recycled and used in a mesoporous carbon-supported CdS (CdS@C) photocatalyst after pyrolysis carbonization and a hydrothermal reaction. The results demonstrated that the as-prepared CdS@C photocatalyst contained mixed cubic and hexagonal CdS phases, with a considerably lower band gap (2.1 eV) than pure CdS (2.6 eV). CdS@C exhibited an enhanced photocatalytic performance for the degradation of organic dyes under visible light irradiation compared with pure CdS due to its excellent light-harvesting capacity and efficient electron-hole separation. Moreover, the continuous formation of active species (h+, •OH, and O2•−) was responsible for the photodegradation of organic dyes using CdS@C. This work provides new insights for the safe disposal of Cd-enriched wastewater and for improving the economic viability of Cd-contaminated resources by recovering a value-added photocatalyst.

Optimization and reaction kinetics on the removal of Nickel and COD from wastewater from electroplating industry using Electrocoagulation and Advanced Oxidation Processes

Suzuki Indomobil Motor Plant (SIMP) Cakung, East Jakarta, Indonesia generates wastewater containing heavy metals such as nickel, zinc, chromium, copper, and COD derived from the metal coating process using the electroplating system. Electroplating wastewater produced by this company contains Nickel and COD above the quality standards set by the Government of DKI Jakarta (Governor Regulation No. 69/2013). This research aims to analyze and compare the efficiency and kinetics of Nickel complexes and COD removal using the Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP) and Electrocoagulation (EC) method. Electroplating wastewater generated by SIMP Cakung (ratio of plating wastewater to overflow plating wastewater is 1:30) in this study had characteristics of 379–568 ppm (effluent standard = 75 ppm) of COD, and 87.555–121 ppm (effluent standard = 1 ppm) of Nickel. Preliminary experiments with the factorial design method indicated that independent variables (pH, current density, ozone flow rate, and contact time) had a critical influence/significance on the removal efficiency of Nickel complexes, while the influence of the above variables in COD removal efficiency was not significant. Optimum operating conditions for Nickel complexes and COD removal using both AOP and EC reactor were found in this study as well as the reaction kinetics of the removal rate. Our study found that the optimum operating conditions for Nickel complexes and COD removal using the AOP reactor were at the pH of 10, the ozone flow rate of 2 L/min, the contact time of 60 min (99.75% and 51.25% for Nickel and COD removal, respectively). For the EC reactor, the optimum condition for Nickel and COD removal are pH of 6.5, the current density of 20 mA/cm2 and the contact time of 50 min (99.75% and 51.25% for Nickel and COD removal, respectively). In these conditions, the AOP reactor in its optimum condition could remove Nickel and COD more compared to the EC reactor. This finding suggests that AOP technology is not only reliable in removing Nickel from electroplating industrial wastewater, but also it could reduce the loading of COD for further treatment units by more than 50%. Further studies in the effect of the longer contact time and higher ozone flowrate on COD removal is suggested.

Removal mechanism of heavy metal (Cu, Ni, Zn, and Cr) in the presence of cyanide during electrocoagulation using Fe and Al electrodes

Heavy metals have frequently been detected in metal plating wastewater. In this study, electrocoagulation method using iron (Fe) and aluminum (Al) electrodes was applied to simultaneously remove four heavy metals (Cu, Ni, Zn, Cr) in artificial metal plating wastewater. The Fe electrode showed greater removal efficiency for especially Cr than did the Al electrode due to the reduction of Cr6+ ion by Fe2+ ions produced from electrode. Alkaline pH favored electrocoagulation because of the abundance of hydroxide (OH−) ions; thus, metal hydroxides can be formed readily under alkaline pH. The metal removal increased with current density, as Fe2+ ion was generated more effectively at high current. However, the electrolyte concentration did not significantly affect metal removal efficiency. In electrocoagulation experiments using Fe electrodes, the mass of sludge formed was 0.68–2.50 kg/m3 and the amount of energy consumed was 0.37–2.78 kW h/m3, respectively, during the treatment of artificial metal plating wastewater containing four heavy metals in the absence of cyanide, which increased to 3.64–4.74 kg/m3 and 4.80–5.04 kW h/m3 for artificial wastewater in the presence of cyanide. The FTIR spectra of the sludge samples generated when using Fe and Al electrodes showed that all four metals exhibited OH stretching peaks, implying that main removal mechanism of metals during electrocoagulation is the precipitation with metal hydroxide. Iron sludge was composed mainly of Fe3O4 and FeO(OH), and Al sludge was mostly AlO(OH). When using Fe electrode in the presence of cyanide, cyanide was also adsorbed onto iron sludge via Fe-CN bonding.

Hybrid ceramic membrane reactor combined with fluidized adsorbents and scouring agents for hazardous metal-plating wastewater treatment

In this study, a ceramic membrane consisting of aluminum oxide in the support and active layer with a surface pore size of 0.1 μm was applied with a real hazardous metal-plating wastewater. Alumina membrane was submerged directly into a fluidized membrane reactor specially designed for fluidizing the granular activated carbon (GAC) particles along membrane surface by recirculating a bulk wastewater through the reactor to improve fouling control and removal efficiency of contaminants. Zeolite particle which has the similar size to the GAC was also tested to compare membrane performance. Neutralizing a wastewater pH resulted in the agglomeration of particulate and colloidal materials, leading to the significant deposit of the fouling layer on membrane surface. The external fouling layer formed on membrane surface enhanced the removal efficiency of the heavy metal ions due to its role as secondary membrane. In addition to the fouling control by mechanical scouring actions, fluidizing the GAC particles on membrane was more beneficial to improve organic removal efficiency than zeolite. The increase in GAC dosage from 10 to 30 v/v% did not result in any beneficial effect on both fouling reduction and organic removal efficiency.

Recovery of Ni(II) from real electroplating wastewater using fixed-bed resin adsorption and subsequent electrodeposition

Effective recovery of high-value heavy metals from electroplating wastewater is of great significance, but recovering nickel ions from real electroplating wastewater as nickel sheet has not been reported. In this study, the pilot-scale fixed-bed resin adsorption was conducted to recover Ni(II) ions from real nickel plating wastewater, and then the concentrated Ni(II) ions in the regenerated solution were reduced to nickel sheet via electrodeposition. A commercial cation-exchange resin was selected and the optimal resin adsorption and regeneration conditions were investigated. The resin exhibited an adsorption capacity of 63 mg/g for Ni(II) ions, and the average amount of treated water was 84.6 bed volumes (BV) in the pilot-scale experiments. After the adsorption by two ion-exchange resin columns in series and one chelating resin column, the concentrations of Ni(II) in the treated wastewater were below 0.1 mg/L. After the regeneration of the spent resin using 3 BVof 4% (w/w) HCl solution, 1.5 BV of concentrated neutral nickel solution (>30 g/L) was obtained and used in the subsequent electrodeposition process. Using the aeration method, alkali and water required in resin activation process were greatly reduced to 2 BV and 3 BV, respectively. Under the optimal electrodeposition conditions, 95.6% of Ni(II) in desorption eluent could be recovered as the elemental nickel on the cathode. The total treatment cost for the resin adsorption and regeneration as well as the electrodeposition was calculated.

Electrocoagulation process for the treatment of metal-plating wastewater: Kinetic modeling and energy consumption

It is known that wastewater produced by the metal-plating industry contains several heavy metals, which are acidic in nature and therefore toxic for the environment and for living creatures. In particular, heavy metals enter the food chain and accumulate in vital organs and cause serious illness. The precipitation of these metals is mostly achieved by pH adjustment, but as an alternative to this method, the electrocoagulation process has investigated in this study using iron and aluminum electrodes. The effects of the pH adjustment on removal before and after the electrocoagulation process were investigated, and cost analyses were also compared. It was observed that a high proportion of removal was obtained during the first minutes of the electrocoagulation process; thus, the current density did not have a great effect. In addition, the pH adjustment after the electrocoagulation process using iron electrodes, which are 10% more effective than aluminum electrodes, was found to be much more efficient than before the electrocoagulation process. In the process where kinetic modeling was applied, it was observed that the heavy metal removal mechanism was not solely due to the collapse of heavy metals at high pH values, and with this modeling, it was seen that this mechanism involved adsorption by iron and aluminum hydroxides formed during the electrocoagulation process. When comparing the ability of heavy metals to be adsorbed, the sequence was observed to be Cr>Cu>Ni>Zn, respectively.

Removal of Nickel, Zinc and Copper from Plating Process Industrial Raw Effluent Via Hydroxide Precipitation Versus Sulphide Precipitation

Electroless plating wastewater contains mixed metals element. Although precipitation is the most common method applied to remove metals from the wastewater, it fails to completely precipitate all the metals at a single pH. The present work evaluates the effectiveness of the sulphide and the hydroxide precipitation for removal of nickel, zinc and copper from industrial wastewater, namely acid rinse and nickel rinse samples. The optimum pH and coagulant dosage were determined via Jar Test for both types of samples. Sulphide precipitation removed heavy metals more efficient than hydroxide precipitation. For the acid rinse sample, 95.32% of nickel was removed using sulphide precipitation while 76.66% removal using hydroxide precipitation. For nickel rinse sample, 93.75% of zinc was removed using sulphide while 68.8% removal using hydroxide. 65.75% of nickel was removed using both sulphide and hydroxide. Total removal of copper was achieved for both hydroxide and sulphide precipitation, either from acid rinse or nickel rinse samples.

Preparation of aminated cross-linked chitosan beads for efficient adsorption of hexavalent chromium

Novel chitosan-based adsorbent (CS-DEO-SP) was successfully prepared by cross-linking and amination using diepoxyoctane (DEO) and spermine (SP) sequentially for the enhanced adsorption of Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions. The optimal CS-DEO-SP beads were prepared with 1.5 mg/L of SP for 5 h at 50 °C. The prepared beads exhibited heterogeneous and porous surfaces. The increased surface area (79.6%), pore volume (86.0%), and pore size (31.2%) of the modified adsorbent evidenced the successful modification of chitosan beads. The adsorption kinetics of Cr(VI) ions onto the prepared CS-DEO-SP beads was well fitted by the pseudo-second-order model (R2 > 0.97), and the adsorption isotherms adapted well with the Freundlich model (R2 > 0.96). The experimental data revealed that the adsorption of Cr(VI) ions on the CS-DEO-SP beads was extremely dependent on solution pH, and the maximum adsorption capacity of 358.1 mg/g was achieved at acidic condition (pH 2.0). After the regeneration of spent CS-DEO-SP beads using 1.0 mol/L NaOH, the adsorption capacity of reused adsorbent gradually declined within five consecutive adsorption cycles. Overall, the prepared CS-DEO-SP beads showed excellent stability in acidic solution and Cr(V) adsorption performance and thus can be used as an efficient adsorbent for eliminating Cr(VI) ions from acidic metal-plating wastewater.

Removal of F–53B as PFOS alternative in chrome plating wastewater by UV/Sulfite reduction

Chrome mist suppressants are key chemicals used in the chrome plating industry to reduce exposure of workers by inhalation to airborne chromic acid pollution. Perfluoroalkyl sulfonated compounds are excellent mist suppressants, thanks to their chemical stability and surface activity. Therefore, despite mounting evidence for their persistence, bioaccumulation and toxicity, it is likely that such chemicals will continue to be used for the foreseeable future because of their importance and lack of alternatives. The present study is aimed at assessing the feasibility of advanced reduction as an effective technology to treat chrome plating industry wastewater. In particular, wastewater containing a chlorinated polyfluorinated ether sulfonate (i.e. F–53B), an alternative to perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) used to prepare chrome mist suppressant in China, was treated by UV-activated sulfite. Results demonstrates that in ultrapure water F–53B can be easily degraded within 1 min—much faster than PFOS. Stoichiometric fluoride recovery was also achieved, confirming significant defluorination of the pollutant. Such superior reducibility was due to the presence of chlorine atoms, as corroborated by quantum chemical calculations. F–53B degradation was also achieved in chrome plating industrial wastewater, which yielded results were slower than those achieved in the laboratory nonetheless obtained complete abatement within 60 min. These results suggest that the proposed advanced reduction process is one of the safest options to control PFAS discharge in the environment and reduce the related risks to ecosystems.

Selective removal of aluminum, nickel and chromium ions by polymeric resins and natural zeolite from anodic plating wastewater

ABSTRACT Aluminum industry has been well-known for producing enormous volume of wastewater in high concentration of varied heavy metals and toxic substances with wide variation in pH. In this study, selective removal of aluminum, nickel and chromium by polymeric resins (Amberlite IR120, Lewatit TP207) and natural zeolite from aluminum anodic plating process wastewater in varying aluminum concentrations (~10–200 mg/L), very low pH (3–4) and high conductivity (5090–8540 µS/cm) was evaluated. The wastewater was collected from a factory producing aluminum profiles (Kayseri, Turkey) where anodic oxidation plating is applied. The affinity of adsorbents towards to metals was in order aluminum > nickel > chromium. The kinetic results revealed that sorption of heavy metals onto adsorbent obeys pseudo-second-order model. The experimental data fitted the best to modified Freundlich isotherm. Aluminum uptake by adsorbents was feasible, exothermic and spontaneous by Amberlite IR120 and Lewatit TP207; however, the reaction was endothermic for zeolite.

Surveying the efficiency of Platanus orientalis bark as biosorbent for Ni and Cr(VI) removal from plating wastewater as a real sample

Heavy metals make up one of the most important pollutants in industrial wastewater. For wastewater, adsorbent materials developed from suitable biomass can be effective in removing the heavy metal ions. In this study, the powder of the bark of Platanus orientalis was used as a biosorbent to remove Cr(VI) and Ni from a nickel-chromium plating wastewater as a real sample for the first time. Two different adsorbents were used in analyzing the data: modified and non-modified bark. The extent of adsorption was dependent on the pH (in the range of 1.5, 3, 5, 7, and 9), the time of contact (in the range of 30, 60, 90, 120min), and the adsorbent dosage (different doses of 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2gL-1). The concentration of unabsorbed metals was measured by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES, Model Thermo iCAP 6000). The maximum removal of Cr(VI) was obtained 89.6% for non-modified bark and 90.7% for modified bark both at pH of 5 in 2gL-1 of adsorbent dosage in 300min. While, the maximum Ni removal was obtained 74.5 and 56.5% for non-modified and modified bark, respectively, at pH3 in 2gL-1 adsorbent dosage in 90min. Based on the results, Freundlich isotherm appears better fitted in adsorption with a better correlation coefficient (R2 = 0.998) than that of Langmuir model with a correlation coefficient of R2 = 0.996. The qmax for Ni1 and Ni2 were 126.58 and 285.714mgg-1 and the qmax for Cr1 and Cr2 were 13.423 and 19.920mgg-1, respectively. The FTIR studies indicated that S-O stretching group from sulfonate, surface O=H stretching, and also aliphatic C-H stretching are responsible for the adsorption. The SEM results obviously show the difference between the biomass surface before and after loading of ions. Ultimately, the present study concluded that P. orientalis could be a cheap and efficient biosorbent to adsorb and remove Cr(VI) and Ni from the plating wastewater; however, it seems more efficient for Cr(VI) with an average removal power of 90.15% than Ni with an average removal power of 65.75%.

Pilot scale membrane separation of plating wastewater by nanofiltration and reverse osmosis

Plating wastewater containing various heavy metals can be produced by several industries. Specifically, we focused on the removal of copper (Cu2+) and nickel (Ni+) ions from the plating wastewater because all these ions are strictly regulated when discharged into watershed in Korea. The application of both nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) technologies for the treatment of wastewater containing copper and nickel ions to reduce fresh water consumption and environmental degradation was investigated. In this work, the removal of copper (Cu2+) and nickel (Ni+) ions from synthetic water was studied on pilot scale remove by before using two commercial nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis(RO) spiral-wound membrane modules (NE2521-90 and RE2521-FEN by Toray Chemical). The influence of main operating parameters such as feed concentration on the heavy metals rejection and permeate flux of both membranes, was investigated. Synthetic plating wastewater samples containing copper (Cu2+) and nickel (Ni2+) ions at various concentrations(1, 20, 100, 400 mg/L) were prepared and subjected to treatment by NF and RO in the pilot plant. The results showed that NF, RO process, with 98% and 99% removal for copper and nickel, respectively, could achieve high removal efficiency of the heavy metals.

Effective removal of zinc from industrial plating wastewater using hydrolyzed olive cake: Scale-up and preparation of zinc-Based biochar

In this study, the removal of zinc from plating wastewaters using fixed bed columns packed with hydrolyzed olive cake was investigated. This work discusses the significance of the scale-up and provides a brief overview of the potential uses of exhausted biosorbent for the generation of zinc-based materials. First, biosorption studies were performed to analyze biosorption behavior of hydrolyzed olive cake in different sized columns. Influence of important design parameters such as contact time, linear velocity and bed height/diameter ratio on biosorption performance was studied. Results indicated a significant effect of contact time on scale-up. Higher bed depths increased the biosorption capacity due to a larger dose of absorbent in the packed columns. As the flow rate increased, the breakthrough time decreased and the exhaustion of the column was reached faster. In addition, operating at the same contact time and bed height/diameter ratio and at a linear velocity much higher in the pilot column, the zinc uptake capacity was found to be higher. Better biosorption results could be due to velocity influencing the mass transfer and hydraulics improving the fluid dispersion. Finally, exhausted biosorbent was subjected to different thermal treatments. Preliminary tests showed that zinc-loaded solid can be recycled for the generation of zinc-based materials.