DOI: 10.17632/6gcnh4rnzz
title: Synthesis and Characterization of Plant Activated Charcoal (PAC) for Remediation of Pollutants from Industrial Effluents - An Efficient Tool for Pollution Abatement at Industrial Scale

description: The aim of this work was to prepare Plant Activated Charcoal (PAC) from organic matters (Coconut Husk: CH, Sugarcane Bagasse: SB) for removal of nutrients and heavy metals from industrial effluents, Central Gujarat, India. Industrial wastewater was obtained from Paint Industry (PI), Vallabh Vidyanagar STP (VVS), Petlad STP (PS) and Organic Chemical Industry (OCI). Objectives of study were synthesis and characterization of PAC (CH, SB), optimization of PAC at different pH, concentration, time duration and agitation rate, remediation of nutrients and heavy metals from selected industrial effluents using PAC. Optimization efficiency of CH: pH 8, 10 ppm Conc., 36.00% removal; pH 8, 20 ppm Conc., 29.30% removal; pH 8, 30 ppm Conc., 40.16% removal; pH 8, 40 ppm Conc., 38.05% removal; pH 8, 50 ppm Conc., 74.86% removal; pH 8, 50 ppm Conc., 100 rpm, 72.16% removal; pH 8, 50 ppm Conc., 120 min., 76.52% removal; pH 8, 50 ppm Conc., 500 mg PAC, 81.14% removal. Optimization efficiency of SB: pH 8, 10 ppm Conc., 34.50% removal; pH 8, 20 ppm Conc., 31.20% removal; pH 8, 30 ppm Conc., 40.70% removal; pH 8, 40 ppm Conc., 42.82% removal; pH 8, 50 ppm Conc., 69.48% removal; pH 8, 50 ppm Conc., 100 rpm, 72.70% removal; pH 8, 50 ppm Conc., 120 min., 75.70% removal; pH 8, 50 ppm Conc., 500 mg PAC, 81.70% removal. CH exhibited efficient removal of Sulphate (97.28% each-PI, VVS), 92.13% (PS), 63.71% (OCI). SB was proved to be efficient in removing Sulphate (92.65%-PI), 94.29% (VVS), 92.46% (PS) and 85.08% removal of Chloride (OCI). Utmost removal of Phosphate was observed by CH (94.76%) compared to SB (88.25%-PI), Sulphate (CH: 97.28% each-PI, OCI, SB: 94.29%-VVS), Nitrate (CH: 12.05%-OCI, SB: 10.85%-PI), Iron (CH: 18.69%-PI, SB: 14.24%-PI), Chromium (CH: 21.00%-OCI, SB: 45.38%-PS), Ca (CH: 22.86%-VVS, SB: 40.00%-PS), Mg (CH: 18.61%-OCI, SB: 47.20%-PS), Chloride (CH: 60.00%-OCI, SB: 85.08%-OCI). Comparative study among selected industrial units revealed 97.28% (CH) and 92.65% (SB) removal of Sulphate in PI; 92.13% (CH) and 94.29% (SB) removal of Sulphate in VVS; 92.13% (CH) and 92.46% (SB) removal of Sulphate in PS; 63.71% (CH) removal of Sulpahte and 85.08% (SB) of Chloride in OCI. At the end of the experiment, CH treatment was found to be efficient in removing Sulphate (97.28%) in PI, followed by 92.13% each in VVS & PS, and 63.71% in OCI. On the other hand, SB treatment exhibited effectual removal of Sulphate (94.29%) in VVS, followed by 92.65% in PI, 92.46% in PS and 85.08% removal of Chloride in OCI. Overall, CH treatment was proved to be more consistent in removing Sulphate (97.28%-PI) than SB (94.29%). Surprisingly, SB exhibited exclusive elimination of Chloride (85.08%) in OCI. The outcomes of present study proves the most effective usage of CH and SB as PACs for removal of nutrients and heavy metals for wastewater yields and proportionate use of natural plant wastes as operational tools for wastewater treatments at various industrial scales.