Porous media for removal of organic and inorganic contaminants

Abstract

Wastewater contains heavy metals that cause serious environmental problems. Hence, in the environmental studies, it is important to know the adsorption process of the contaminants in porous media. This study used a continuous flow system which consisted of horizontal PVC pipes of 150 mm diameter and 6 m length. The system was designed and installed in the Environmental Hydraulic Laboratories of Al-Mustansiryiah University (College of Engineering, Environmental Department). This pipe included a manufacturing porous media, activated ceramic (ACR). The objective of this work is to study the adsorption of the total organic carbon (TOC) and the heavy metals from aqueous solutions using manufacturing porous media through horizontal flow without membrane. The discharge of the polluted water to the pipes was changed at values of 10, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 L/h. The results of this system were: the removal efficiency of the heavy metals increased with an increase in detention time, length of the pipe and the pressure.