Evaluating the effectiveness of eggshells to remove heavy metals from wastewater

Abstract

Bio sorbent such as banana peel, pumpkin, papaya seed, crab shell, and eggshell uses effectively to remove contamination from the wastewater. This experiment is designed to evaluate the factors that influence the adsorption efficiency of eggshells to remove heavy metals particularly, Pb(II), Cu(II), and Zinc(II) from wastewater. Various methods were applied to determine the impact of temperature, size, and quantity of eggshell on the efficiency to remove heavy metal contamination from the wastewater. Results revealed that the efficiency of a sorbent is inversely related to the size of the sorbent. Moreover, higher efficiency was obtained at higher concentrations. The critical concentration lies between 20 and 25 (mg/L) where efficiency was at maximum level. Furthermore, adsorption efficiency was directly related to temperature after 35°C. Before 35°C, the variation in temperature did not show any impact on the efficiency. An optimal reaction temperature was determined at 65°C when the efficiency of adsorbent was at the maximum level. The study results provided the potential to get economic and environmental benefits by removing contamination from wastewater using eggshells.