Synthesis and performance evaluation of adsorbents derived from sewage sludge blended with waste coal for nitrate and methyl red removal

Abstract

Low-cost adsorbents were synthesized using two types of sewage sludge: D, which was obtained during the dissolved air flotation stage, and S, which was a mixture of primary and secondary sludge from the digestion and dewatering stages. The sewage sludge was mixed with waste coal before being activated with potassium hydroxide (KOH) and oxidized with ammonium persulfate (APS). The nitrate and methyl red removal capacities of the synthesized adsorbents were evaluated and compared to those of industrial activated charcoal. The oxidation surface area of adsorbents derived from sludge S shrank by six fold after modification i.e., from 281.72 (unoxidized) to 46.573 m2/g for the oxidized adsorbent with a solution of 2M ammonium peroxydisulfate, while those derived from D only varied narrowly from 312.72 to 282.22 m2/g, but surface modification had no effect on inorganic composition in either case. The adsorption of nitrate and methyl red (MR) was performed in batch mode, and the removal processes followed the pseudo second order kinetic model and the Langmuir isotherm fairly well. The adsorption capacities of nitrate and MR were higher at pH = 2 and pH = 4, respectively.