R. Branham Melchi and S. Evany Nithya
Abstract
Removal of heavy metals from wastewater is a challenging task. Tanneries play very important role in the economic growth of our country. However, they also discharge wastewater containing Cr (VI) which poses environmental hazards to the receiving water bodies. Though, many methods are available for the removal of heavy metals, adsorption is a widely used method. Conventionally, activated carbon is used as an adsorbent for treating Metal-ion contaminated wastewater due to its high efficacy rate but the problem with the usage of activated carbon is limited due to its high cost and difficulty in regeneration. A study has been carried out to determine the feasibility of biochar from garden litter and ash from biomedical wastes to remove chromium ions. The maximum removal of Cr(VI) was found to be 64.71% while using biochar and 77.45% while using Incinerated Biomedical Ash at a metal concentration 10 ppm with a contact time of 60 minutes. The R2 value from the regression analysis for both the adsorbents showed a good fit between the experimental results and the model predictions.