Removal of mercury from aqueous solutions using activated carbon prepared from agricultural by-product/waste

• Published in: Journal of environmental management Vol. 90; no. 1; pp. 634 - 643
• Main Authors: Rao, M. Madhava, Reddy, D.H.K. Kumar, Venkateswarlu, Padala, Seshaiah, K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 2009; Elsevier; Academic Press Ltd
• Subjects: activated carbon; Adsorbents; Adsorption; Agricultural pollution; agricultural wastes; Agriculture; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; Aqueous solutions; Biological and medical sciences; byproducts; Carbon; Ceiba; Ceiba pentandra; Ceiba pentandra hulls; Charcoal; Cicer; Cicer arietinum; Cicer arietinum waste; Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife; desorption; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; extraction; food processing wastes; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; hulls; Industrial Waste; Kinetics; Mercury; Mercury - isolation & purification; Phaseolus; Phaseolus aureus; Phaseolus aureus hulls; Removal; Solutions; sorption isotherms; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; Vigna radiata var. radiata; Waste Disposal, Fluid; Water Microbiology; water pollution; India; Removal; Ceiba pentandra hulls; Phaseolus aureus hulls; Mercury; Cicer arietinum waste; Vigna radiata; Environmental management; Heavy metal; Pollutant; Leguminosae; Cicer arietinum; Dicotyledones; Activated carbon; Angiospermae; Spermatophyta; Agricultural waste; Aqueous solution; By product
• ISSN: 0301-4797; 1095-8630
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2007.12.019

Removal of mercury from aqueous solutions using activated carbon prepared from Ceiba pentandra hulls, Phaseolus aureus hulls and Cicer arietinum waste was investigated. The influence of various parameters such as effect of pH, contact time, initial metal ion concentration and adsorbent dose for the removal of mercury was studied using a batch process. The experiments demonstrated that the adsorption process corresponds to the pseudo-second-order-kinetic models and the equilibrium adsorption data fit the Freundlich isotherm model well. The prepared adsorbents ACCPH, ACPAH and ACCAW had removal capacities of 25.88 mg/g, 23.66 mg/g and 22.88 mg/g, respectively, at an initial Hg(II) concentration of 40 mg/L. The order of Hg(II) removal capacities of these three adsorbents was ACCPH > ACPAH > ACCAW. The adsorption behavior of the activated carbon is explained on the basis of its chemical nature. The feasibility of regeneration of spent activated carbon adsorbents for recovery of Hg(II) and reuse of the adsorbent was determined using HCl solution.