Low-Cost Treatment to Remove Emerging Contaminants from Wastewater by Novel Palm Biochar

Abstract

Emerging contaminants (ECs) are becoming a growing concern due to the difficulty of treating them using traditional wastewater treatment methods. This thesis revolves around the removal of four emerging contaminants (pharmaceuticals and personal care products) using biochar as low cost adsorbent. The biochar used in this thesis is derived from date palm trees and is pyrolyzed at various temperatures. The contaminants in this study are atenolol (ATE), sulfamethoxazole (SMX), ibuprofen (IBP) and phenol. The removals were observed in single contaminant solutions as well as mixed contaminant solutions. Biochar removed phenol up to average 99% under the optimal conditions. SMX was removed up to average 90%, while IBP and ATE average removal rates reached average 70% and 50% respectively. All contaminants followed pseudo second order kinetics. Additionally, the Langmuir model fit best for ATE, IBP and SMX while the Freundlich model was optimum for phenol. The adsorption capacity for ATE, IBP, SMX and phenol were average 4.90 mg/g, 8.60 mg/g, 6.64 mg/g and 24.25 mg/g respectively in their single solute studies. The samples were characterized by using EDX, FTIR, SEM and EDX. The results of the characterization indicated the presence of the contaminants by means of slight peak shifts in FTIR and weight percentages displayed in the EDX reports. Lastly, a Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed to compare biochar and activated carbon in order to establish that biochar has lower negative environmental impacts and cost effective.

Date of Award	Jul 2021
Original language	American English