Applicability of solid process residues as sorbents for the treatment of industrial wastewaters. (10th February 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Khalid, M.K.; Agarwal, V.; Wilson, B.P.; Takaluoma, E.; Lundström, M.
• Is Part Of: Journal of cleaner production. Volume 246(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-02-10
• Subjects: Pollution reduction -- Metal removal -- Regenerable biopolymers -- Adsorption -- Sustainability; Factory and trade waste -- Management -- Periodicals; Manufactures -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Déchets industriels -- Gestion -- Périodiques; Usines -- Aspect de l'environnement -- Périodiques; 628.5
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118951
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0959-6526

Abstract

Abstract: In the present work, four different geopolymers: PG (alkaline activated metakaolinite), PGA (aluminum oxide + PG), AG (alkaline activated analcime) and AAG (aluminum oxide + AG) and one commercially available MgO based sorbent: PM (PalPower M10) were compared on the basis of their copper adsorption capacity from aqueous solutions. It was observed that PM (PalPower M10) outperformed all the other sorbents studied for copper removal efficiency and was consequently selected for further study. The effect of the main adsorption parameters such as pH (1–5), dosage (0.25–5 g/L) and contact time (15–1440 min) were systematically investigated with synthetic solutions of differing copper concentrations (100–500 mg/L). The results indicated that PM sorbent removed all the copper ions at pH 4 with a dosage of 1 g/L and contact time of 24 h from solutions that contained only copper ions, whereas the presence of other ions - including Fe - significantly decreased the copper removal efficiency. Due to presence of other elements like As, Al, Zn in industrial wastewater, a higher dosage of PM sorbent (∼45–90 g/L) was required in order to remove all the metal ions after 24 h. The regeneration results suggested that the attached copper ions can be successfully stripped using a 2 M ammonia solution allowing the PM sorbent to be regenerated. These findings demonstrate the potential of geopolymers to treat industrial wastewaters, especially for the removal of metal ions like copper. Highlights: Solid industrial process residues were tested for their copper removal efficiency. MgO-based sorbent was effective at removing copper from synthetic wastewaters. The efficient treatment of industrial wastewaters was demonstrated. NH4 OH solution treatments were able to strip and regenerate sorbent for reuse.