PJB-2013-388
SYNTHESIS OF ACTIVATED CARBON FROM TREE SAWDUST AND ITS USAGE FOR DIMINUTION OF COLOR AND COD OF PAPER-MILL EFFLUENTS
MUHAMMAD FARHAN1,2*, 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.
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