Synthetic wastewater treatment using agro-based adsorbents

Abstract

This study was undertaken to determine the treatment a binary mixture of dye wastewater (containing Naphthol Green B) and the sugar industry wastewater for removal of color. The specific treatment in the current research consists of adsorption using low-cost adsorbents and microfiltration using Whatman-41 microfilters. Considerations of this treatment process are to take the samples using batch adsorption and avoid coagulation with further dilution. Numerous runs are made, with the ideal waste samples prepared in the laboratory. As a 1st step in the study, different dye concentrations are considered using different concentrations of sugar wastewater. Samples are treated with 3 different Agro-based low-cost adsorbents (orange peel, peanut hull, and Powdered Activated Carbon (PAC)). Transmittance values for Naphthol Green B after treatment with orange peel and peanut hull are 83.12 % and 76.98 % respectively. Peanut hull has the highest transmittance of 76.98 % with < 425 µm size. Orange peel contributes to the highest transmittance of 83.12 % with a 2 g dosage. The values of transmittance after treatment with PAC are taken as the datum for the comparison of adsorption performance after treatment using orange peel and peanut hull. Peanut hull has the highest Non-Purgeable Organic Carbon (NPOC) measurement of 37.86 mg/L when mixed with 600 ppm of sugar wastewater. Similarly, when mixed with 600 ppm of sugar wastewater, orange peel contributes to the NPOC value of 35.06 mg/L. These treated samples using low-cost adsorbents can be considered as pre-treated wastewater that can be sent to municipal wastewater treatment plants.