Removal of Chromium wastewater using activated carbon from rice husks and saba banana (Musa Acuminata X Balbisiana) peelings

Date

2019

Adviser

Karl Calungsod Ondoy

Abstract

Sustainable Development Goals state that it is important to find ways for sustainable industrial development which will provide solutions to environmentally sound industrializations. One main issue in industrialization nowadays is managing wastes such as carbon emissions, material wastes, and wastewater. If not properly taken care of, these can cause negative impacts not only on the environment but also to people. A particular issue that was addressed in this paper is to find a way on how to decrease the amount of Chromium (Cr2+) found in laboratory wastewater. An experimental investigation was carried out for the removal of Cr2+ in wastewater obtained from DOST CALABARZON from their Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) Analyses. Activated carbon from agricultural wastes, specifically banana peelings and rice husk, were used as adsorbents in this study. Varying ratios of activated carbon from rice husk (RHAC) and banana peelings (BPAC) were used alongside 100 mL of wastewater for adsorption experiments. Data from Scanning Electron Microscope showed that the activation of rice husk was more favorable than the activation banana peelings due to the presence of more prominent adsorption sites on the surface of the RHAC than on BPAC. Results from FTIR-ATR Spectroscopy showed that there was a decrease of H2O in BPAC; meanwhile there was complete loss of H2O in RHAC. Atomic Adsorption Spectroscopy showed that pure BPAC removed the lowest amount of Cr2+ at only 21 % while pure RHAC removed 61 %. The optimum dosage of activated carbon was determined to have a ratio of 3.33g RHAC: 6.67g BPAC with 64% of Cr2+ removed; exhibiting a synergistic effect of BPAC and RHAC. It was interpreted that this was due to the interaction of the C-O and O-H bonds between RHAC and BPAC which increased the surface area of RHAC for Cr2+ to attach to.

Language

English

LC Subject

Capstone

Location

University of the Philippines Rural High School

Document Type

Capstone

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