SELECTIVE ADSORPTION OF Fe(II) and Zn(II) FROM PHARMACEUTICAL WASTEWATER

Abstract

This work focused on the utilization of termite mound clay and activated carbon prepared from groundnuts pod for the selective removal of Fe(II) and Zn(II) from Pharmaceutical Wastewater. The initial concentration of Fe(II) [0.46 mg/l] and Zn(II) [0.10mg/l] in the pharmaceutical wastewater were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) technique, Fourier transforms infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-Ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were conducted to investigate the adsorbent features. A preliminary experiment was carried out to determine the suitable adsorbent for optimization studies. Optimization study using Box-Behnken experimental design in Response Surface Methodology were employed. The coded levels selected includes adsorbent loading between 0.05- 0.15 g, temperatures 25 - 45 ^oC and time 30 - 90 mins. At Optimal condition, 6.6 pH value, the temperature of 25 ^oC, contact time of 90 mins and adsorbent dosage of 0.1 g, the Fe (II) in the Pharmaceutical Wastewater was removed by 95.72 %. The Langmuir adsorption isotherm model was found to have R² of 0.9997.  The adsorption capacity of the adsorbent was found to be 0.44 mg/g. Adsorption of Fe (II) onto groundnut pod activated carbon and termite mound clay was best described by the pseudo first order kinetic model (R² = 1.000). The termite mound clay and the activated carbonized groundnuts pod shows an effective adsorption towards the removal of the targeted pollutants from the pharmaceutical wastewater.