Surface Modification of Activated Carbon to Treat Polluted Water Streams
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Date
2011
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Publisher
Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka
Abstract
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Water pollution due to the industrial applications, agro chemicals, etc. is a serious environmental problem which creates health, economical, and ecological impacts worldwide. The presence of toxic compounds, both organic and inorganic, in water streams creates significant threats to man and nature. Therefore, polluted water streams should be purified before releasing to the environment (Akhtar et al., 2006); (Massa et al., 2004). Adsorption is one of the most versatile and effective method, among other different methods. Adsorption is a natural process by which molecules of a dissolved compound collect on and adhere to the surface of an adsorbent solid. Activated carbon has a great potential for effectively removing contaminants from water by adsorption process due to its electrochemical surface properties. Most forms of activated carbon are non-polar in nature, so they have the greatest affinity for other non-polar substances. As a result, they are most effective in the removal of a variety of organic contaminants. However, activated carbons do not effectively remove trace metals, contaminants of high solubility or inorganic salts like nitrates. Hence, modifying the surface chemistry of activated carbon becomes an attractive route towards novel applications in enhancing the efficiency in water treatment (Chen et al., 2003). In this research, chemical treatment was used to modify the commercially available activated carbon and the modified material was characterized.
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Keywords
Environmental Science, Bioprocess Technology, Chemical Engineering