Synthesis of corn cob activated carbon for Removal of free cyanide from geo-chemical laboratory effluent

Author

Hlosimpilo, Tshuma.

Title

Synthesis of corn cob activated carbon for Removal of free cyanide from geo-chemical laboratory effluent

Abstract

Ecologically safe, cost effective and efficient method suitable to meet up with governing regulatory standards of potable and manufacturing wastewater can be challenging. The current study gives a comprehensive analysis on lowering free cyanide concentration in wastewater by efforts to remove the compound using a low-cost corn cob activated adsorbent. The isolated wastewater bin was dosed successively with the active adsorbent after confirmations from pilot experiments to establish optimum conditions for the removal of the free cyanide compound, that is the effect of the dosage amount, pH and contact time. Scale up ratios were made on addition of the adsorbent to the bin, due to the increased waste water volume. Free cyanide wastewater was then treated with corn cob activated adsorbent at established conditions to remove the noxious compound. Optimal condition for free cyanide detoxification with the adsorbent were established at pH 6 and the final concentration of cyanide in the sample was measured to be 0.07 mg/L. The percentage removal of cyanide in the waste water was calculated to be 99%. Validation of cyanide analysis method using pyridine-barbituric reagent gives a linear regression equation with R 2 = 0.9998. The cyanide adsorption isotherms were described by the Langmuir model with regression R2= 0.9549 and adsorption kinetics were fittingly described by the pseudo first-order model with regression R 2= 0.9251. The reaction was spontaneous and achievable. The most spontaneous reaction denoted by ∆G, was observed at 318 K which was -28.7542. The entropy (∆S) for the detoxification experiment was 0.8608 J k-1 mol-1 .

Date

December 2024

Publisher

BUSE

Keywords

Carbon for Removal.

Geo-chemical Laboratory.

Adsorption isotherms.

Sustainable water treatment.

Supervisor

Mr Katengeza, G.