REMOVAL OF CARBOXYLIC ACID FROM WASTE WATER USING ADSORBENTS

Abstract

In recent years, as waste water effluent quality standards become more stringent, the method used to insure that effluent quality becomes increasingly sophosticated. Physical-Chemical methods now complement and supplant biological treatment. As a result of this people have become more attuned to what is the specific species of pollutant as opposed to what is its B.O.D. or T.O.C. With this new awareness of chemical species identification, the realization that industrial waste contain large amounts refractory organic compounds have ,occured. Typical refractories are acetone, formaldehyde and various carboxylic acid, (especially acetic acid). Corboxylic acids are major commercial chemicals and are potentially even more important as inter mediates and products from fermentation of bio mass. They have wide application in chemicals, man made fibres, dyestuffs, drugs, food industry and many more. Carboxylic acid are skin irritant, toxic and they also causes irritation of mucous membrane. Besides these environmental reasonsa wide gap between demand and supply of these acids also make to think about removal aswell as recovery of acids. Few techniques such as chemical treatment, distillation, extraction,biological treatment, adsorption are there which can be used for carboxylic acids removal. Unfortunately till now not much attention has been paid towards the treatment of effluent containing carboxylic acids. Moreover, whatever work has been done that is on the treatment of effluent containing carboxylic acids by means of extraction or adsorption by conventional adsorbents. In the present study we have undertaken adsorption studies using cheap agricultural waste materials as adsorbents, namely activated bagasse carbon, activated coconut jute, activated sawdust,. activated rice LIOIT;OiA husk. The experiments were conducted in a batch apparatus and effects of the variables, such as, initial acid concentration, adsorbent dose, time rir,9RNA and temperature were studied. Effect of adsorbent dose on the removal of C.O.D. was also studied. For the studies acetic acid has been used as a proto type carboxylic acid as acetic acid is one of most important commercial 30M-APJUPILI member of large carboxylic acids family . e! - 3 317;TAAHTIJ For the studies a synthetic waste water was prepared using .0., 41 'TA.; acetic acid in redistilled water. Then firstly equillibrium time was calculated for all the adsorbents. After that effects of all the variable were studied.The results indicated that acid could be satisfactorly removed from the waste water using these adsorbents. Among of the adsorbents studied activated bagasse carbon was found to be the most . s satisfactory. The kinetics of the adsorption process was also studied.