Waste Litchi Peels for Cr(VI) Removal from Synthetic Wastewater in Batch and Continuous Systems: Sorbent Characterization, Regeneration and Reuse Study
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 142, Issue 9
Abstract
Cr(VI) removal was investigated under batch and continuous mode using dry Litchi chinensis as the low-cost sorbent. Batch biosorption experiments displayed a maximum Cr(VI) removal of 99% with litchi peels, suggesting that the litchi peels can be utilized as a prime sorbent for removal of Cr(VI). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) profiles confirmed the occurrence of ─NH, ─CH, , , and functional groups in the litchi peels for the biosorption of Cr(VI). Cr(VI) sorption thermodynamics by litchi peels indicated that the reaction is endothermic and spontaneous in nature. The effect of various co-ions on Cr(VI) biosorption in the batch experiments revealed a significant effect due to and () ions on biosorption of Cr(VI). By fitting the experimental data on Cr(VI) biosorption to different sorption isotherm models, a very high coefficient of determination () and very high biosorption capacity values were obtained for the Freundlich model. Cr(VI) sorption kinetic followed the pseudo-first-order kinetics with a value of 0.914. The breakthrough curves from the continuous flow-through column study for Cr(VI) removal demonstrated that litchi peels in the fixed-bed column are suitable for decreasing the concentration of Cr(VI) from to a value below the recommended detection limit of . Furthermore, the sorbent regeneration followed by Cr(VI) biosorption demonstrated that litchi peels could be reused for at least two consecutive cycles without any significant change in the Cr(VI) biosorption capacity.
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Acknowledgments
Addis Kokeb Alemu is thankful to the Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, for the award of “C V Raman international fellowship for African researchers” (INT/NAI/CVRF/2014) in carrying out this research work. The authors would also like to thank the Central Instrumentation Facility, IIT Guwahati for the FESEM analysis.
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 142 • Issue 9 • September 2016
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 8, 2015
Accepted: Nov 13, 2015
Published online: Feb 23, 2016
Discussion open until: Jul 23, 2016
Published in print: Sep 1, 2016
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