Utilizing Activated Carbon Developed from Banana Peels as Permeable Reactive Barrier in Copper Removal from Polluted Groundwater

Abstract

The opportunity of utilizing activated carbon prepared from banana peels (BPAC) as a permeable reactive barrier (PRB) to eliminate copper (Cu+2) from the contaminated ground water has been explored. The activated carbon was prepared from banana peels by chemical activation utilizing a drenching agent, for example, a phosphoric acid (H3 PO4). The Influence of different factors including initial copper amount, contacting duration, agitation speed, initial pH of the solution and sorbent dosage was studied in batch experiments. The optimum magnitudes for these factors that resulted in the highest copper removing efficacy (96%) were 40 minutes, 6, 250 rpm, 50 mg/l, and 1 mg/100 ml, respectively. The isotherm models of Freundlich and Langmuir have been utilized to analyze the sorption data for Cu+2 ions acquired via batch studies. The Langmuir model has been utilized to explain the sorption of Cu+2 onto BPAC, according to the findings. The partial differential formulas that describe copper transport in one–dimensional (1D) under equilibrium conditions have been solved utilizing COMSOL Multiphysics 3.5a software based on the finite element technique. The PRB has a significant function in preventing the copper plume from moving, according to the expected findings (COMSOL solution) and experimental findings. Finally, the excellent agreement between anticipated (theoretical) and actual findings, with an RMSE of less comparison with 0.1%, demonstrated that these techniques are useful and efficient instruments for describing copper transport processes