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Effects of Humic Acid and Suspended Solids on the Removal of Heavy Metals from Water by Adsorption onto Granular Activated Carbon

Author

Listed:
  • Danious P. Sounthararajah

    (Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia)

  • Paripurnanda Loganathan

    (Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia)

  • Jaya Kandasamy

    (Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia)

  • Saravanamuthu Vigneswaran

    (Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia)

Abstract

Heavy metals constitute some of the most dangerous pollutants of water, as they are toxic to humans, animals, and aquatic organisms. These metals are considered to be of major public health concern and, therefore, need to be removed. Adsorption is a common physico-chemical process used to remove heavy metals. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and suspended solids (SS) are associated pollutants in water systems that can interact with heavy metals during the treatment process. The interactions of DOC and SS during the removal of heavy metals by granular activated carbon were investigated in batch and fixed-bed column experiments. Batch adsorption studies indicated that Langmuir adsorption maxima for Pb, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Ni at pH 6.5 were 11.9, 11.8, 3.3, 2.0, and 1.8 mg/g, respectively. With the addition of humic acid (HA) (DOC representative), they were 7.5, 3.7, 3.2, 1.6, and 2.5 mg/g, respectively. In the column experiment, no breakthrough (complete removal) was obtained for Pb and Cu, but adding HA provided a breakthrough in removing these metals. For Zn, Cd and Ni, this breakthrough occurred even without HA being added. Adding kaolinite (representative of SS) had no effect on Pb and Cu, but it did on the other metals.

Suggested Citation

  • Danious P. Sounthararajah & Paripurnanda Loganathan & Jaya Kandasamy & Saravanamuthu Vigneswaran, 2015. "Effects of Humic Acid and Suspended Solids on the Removal of Heavy Metals from Water by Adsorption onto Granular Activated Carbon," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-15, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:12:y:2015:i:9:p:10475-10489:d:54848
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    Cited by:

    1. Xiaoliang Luo & Bincheng Zhao & Mingguo Peng & Rongyan Shen & Linqiang Mao & Wenyi Zhang, 2022. "Effects of Inorganic Passivators on Gas Production and Heavy Metal Passivation Performance during Anaerobic Digestion of Pig Manure and Corn Straw," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-15, October.
    2. R. M. A. S. Dhananjana Rajakaruna & B. G. N. Sewwandi & Mohamed M. M. Najim & Mirza Barjees Baig & Bader Alhafi Alotaibi & Abou Traore, 2023. "Sustainable Approaches for Wastewater Treatment: An Analysis of Sludge-Based Materials for Heavy Metal Removal from Wastewater by Adsorption," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-25, October.
    3. Shang-Feng Tang & Hang Zhou & Wen-Tao Tan & Jun-Guo Huang & Peng Zeng & Jiao-Feng Gu & Bo-Han Liao, 2022. "Adsorption Characteristics and Mechanisms of Fe-Mn Oxide Modified Biochar for Pb(II) in Wastewater," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-15, July.
    4. Mohammed Umar Abba & Hasfalina Che Man & Raba’ah Syahidah Azis & Aida Isma Idris & Muhammad Hazwan Hamzah & Mohammed Abdulsalam, 2021. "Synthesis of Nano-Magnetite from Industrial Mill Chips for the Application of Boron Removal: Characterization and Adsorption Efficacy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-18, February.
    5. Xiaoming Huang & Tianhu Chen & Xuehua Zou & Mulan Zhu & Dong Chen & Min Pan, 2017. "The Adsorption of Cd(II) on Manganese Oxide Investigated by Batch and Modeling Techniques," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-11, September.

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