Copper Removal with Biologcal Treatment Aided with Modified Adsorbents

Abstract:

The performance of a biological system was evaluated for copper removal with and without the addition of an adsorbent to the aeration compartment. Three different reactors were employed in this study. The first reactor consist of biomass alone and was used as a control reactor (CR). The second reactor consist of biomass and microwave incinerated rice husk ash (MIRHA) whereas the third reactor consist of biomass and hybrid adsorbent (HA), which is a mixture of MIRHA and groundwater treatment plant sludge (GWTPS). The reactors were operated at solid retention time (SRT) of 30 days and hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 19.8 hours. The experiment was conducted in 8 different phases consisting of various copper concentrations coming from the influent source. The first and second phase were acclimation period during which copper was not added to the influent wastewater. From the third to the eight phase, copper was fed to the reactors at different concentrations. Reactor performance was monitored every two days. Results show that copper toxicity was significant for the control reactor from phase from phase 5 to phase 8 with effluent concentration between 0.34 – 2.62 mg/L. Copper removal was significant for both MIRHA and HA reactor. Effluent copper concentration in the MIRHA reactor was 2.04 mg/L and 1.09 mg/L for HA reactor at phase 8 (copper concentration 15 mg/L). Addition of the adsorbents (MIRHA and HA) enhanced the biomass tolerance towards copper toxicity at high concentration and improved copper removal efficiency. This study, therefore demonstrates that low cost non-conventional adsorbents could be utilized as support materials to enhance biomass tolerance towards heavy metal toxicity.

• Periodical: Applied Mechanics and Materials (Volume 835)
• Pages: 342-347
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.835.342
• Online since: May 2016
• Authors: Shamsul Rahman Mohamed Kutty, Ezerie Henry Ezechi, Ibrahim Umar Salihi*, Seek Guan Khaw, Chin Leong Lai, Mohamed Hasnain Isa
• Keywords: Adsorbents, Biomass, Copper, Heavy Metals, Rice Husk

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