Study of Adsorption Performance of Biochar for Heavy Metals Removal
Rehab Hefny
Department of Civil Engineering, Shoubra Faculty of Engineering, Benha University, Egypt.
M. M. Ibrahim
Department of Civil Engineering, Shoubra Faculty of Engineering, Benha University, Egypt.
Dalia Morad *
Department of Civil Engineering, Shoubra Faculty of Engineering, Benha University, Egypt.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The main objective of this work is to evaluate the performance of four different types of biochars in removing heavy metals from synthetic solution. Four types of biochars are investigated in this study, namely; jazaurin, ficus, orange, and mango biochars. A pilot plant is set up to investigate the efficiency of these biochars as a filter media for synthetic solution treatment. The removal efficiency of different heavy metals is assessed by a four-column pilot plant under different parameters; mean particle size of biochars, initial metal concentration, hydraulic load, and time. Results indicate that the different types of biochars used in this study show high performance in removing the different types of heavy metals utilized (Copper (Cu), Cadmium (Cd), Lead (Pb), and Zinc(Zn)). The removal efficiencies of these heavy metals are more than 99% for all types of biochar. It is concluded that using biochars as a filter media could be an effective solution for removing heavy metals from industrial wastewater in the environmental conditions of Egypt.
Keywords: Biochar, jazaurin, ficus, filter media, heavy metals, industrial wastewater.