Back to Contents

Pak. J. Bot., 45(S1): 521-527, 2013.

FREE FULL TEXT PDF

Synthesis of Activated Carbon from tree Sawdust and Its usage for diminution of Color and COD of Paper-MILL Effluents

Muhammad Farhan^1,2*, ABDUL Wahid³, amina Kanwal⁴ AND J.N.B. BELL⁵

Abstract: In present work, activated carbons were prepared from saw dust of Dalbergia sissoo, Cedrus deodara and Eucalyptus spp., using H₃PO₄, H₂SO₄ and BaCl₂ as activating agents. The activated carbons were evaluated for reduction in color and chemical oxygen demand (COD) of a real paper industry effluents using batch-mode method to explore the effect of operating parameters (contact time, amount of activated carbon, wastewater concentration, solution pH etc). Statistical analysis revealed that all the activated carbons were significantly different in their efficacy for wastewater treatment. Cedrus deodara based activated carbon was most efficient; showed 93% COD reduction with 100% color removal and brought other physico-chemical parameters of wastewater within the permissible limits of WHO and NEQS. The maximum percent reduction of COD and color with Dalbergia sissoo activated carbon was 80% and 91%, respectively while with Eucalyptus spp., activated carbon; it was 74% and 85%, respectively. The effectiveness of activated carbon synthesized from sawdust of different plants for wastewater treatment was in the following order: Cedrus deodara > Dalbergia sissoo > Eucalyptus spp. The quality of wastewaters after treatment was found to be appropriate for direct discharge into streams and irrigation purpose. This study proved highly successful in addressing the local problem of paper industry effluents using locally available wood processing byproducts.

¹Department of Biological Sciences, Forman Christian College (A Chartered University), Lahore, Pakistan

²Sustainable Development Study Centre, GC University, Lahore, Pakistan

³Department of Environmental Science, BZ University, Multan, Pakistan

⁴Department of Botany, G. C. University, Lahore, Pakistan

⁵Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, SL5 7Py, U.K.

^*Corresponding author’s e-mail: m.farhan_gcu@yahoo.com; ph: +92 321 4122078