CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUNG OF THE STUDY

Water pollution caused by heavy metals has posed a significant threat to

the environment and public health because of their toxicity, accumulation in the
food chain and persistence in nature (Bahadir et al.,2007). Among these heavy
metals, Pb²+, coming from battery manufacturing, ceramic and glass
manufacturing metal planting and finishing, printing, and production of lead
additives for gasoline, is known to have a severe toxic damage to neuronal
system, kidneys, reproductive system, liver and brain (Wang et al., 2007, Gupta
et al., 2011). Since lead does not degrade in environment like organic pollutants
(Li et al.,2002), the safe and effective disposal of wastewater containing Pb²+ is
always a challenge to industrialists and environmentalists (Sekar et al.,2004). At
present, various methods including chemical precipitation, electrochemical
reduction, ion exchange, reverse osmosis, membrane separation, and adsorption
have been developed to remove Pb²+ from wastewater (O’Connell et al.,2008,
Acharya et al.,2009, Ricordel et al.,2001, Saeed et al.,2005, Doyurun et
al.,2006). Compared with other treatment method, adsorption appears to be an
attractive process because it is simple, effective and economical in the removal
of heavy metals from aqueous solution ( Goel et al.,2005).

Activated carbons (ACs) exhibit a great adsorption capacity in wastewater

and gas treatments as well as in catalysis, owing to their highly developed
porosity, large surface area, and variable surface chemistry. However, high cost
and non-renewable source of commercially available ACs limits its use as an
adsorbent in developing countries ( Cazetta et al.,2011, Rao et al.,2008). In
recent years, researchers have studied the production of ACs from cheap and
renewable precursors, such as nutshells, fruit stones, coir pith, bagasse,
bamboo, rice husk, and cotton stalks, etc. Coconut shell is a potential precursor
for the production of ACs due to its excellent natural structure and low ash
content. Conversion of coconut shells into activated carbons which can be
used as adsorbents in water purification or treatment of industrial and
municipal effluents would add value to these agricultural commodities, help
reduce the cost of waste disposal, and provide a potentially cheap alternative
to existing commercial carbons ( Li et al.,2008, Bansode et al.,2003).

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Water pollution caused by heavy metals has posed a significant threat to the
environment and public health because of their toxicity, accumulation in the
food chain and persistence in nature (Bahadir et al.,2007). Among these heavy
metals, Pb²+, coming from battery manufacturing, ceramic and glass
manufacturing metal planting and finishing, printing, and production of lead
additives for gasoline, is known to have a severe toxic damage to neuronal
system, kidneys, reproductive system, liver and brain (Wang et al.,2007, Gupta
et al., 2011). Since lead does not degrade in environment like organic
pollutants (Li et al.,2002), the safe and effective disposal of wastewater
containing Pb²+ is always a challenge to industrialists and environmentalists
(Sekar et al.,2004).

1.3 AIM

This research is aimed at removal of heavy metal lead ( II ) ion from

waste water using coconut shell as an adsorbent

1.4 OBJECTIVES

To analyse the adsorption behaviour of lead (II) ion on coconut shell

carbon
To evaluate its potential in removal of lead (II) ion from aqueous solution

1.5 JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY

Heavy metals, Pb2+, is very important in battery manufacturing, ceramic and

glass manufacturing metal planting and finishing, printing, and production of
lead additives for gasoline, is known to have a severe toxic damage to neuronal
system, kidneys, reproductive system, liver and brain (Wang et al.,2007, Gupta
et al., 2011). This work seek to explore the removal of heavy metal from waste
water using coconut shell

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The main contribution of this work to knowledge is that it will gives an
empirical application of the coconut shell carbon for the removal of lead (ii) ion
from waste water

1.7 SCOPE/ DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

This study will focus on the removal of lead (II) ion from waste water using
coconut shell carbon as an adsorbent

REFERENCE:
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lead(II) from wastewater by activated carbon developed from Tamarind wood
by zinc chloride activation. Chem. Eng. J. 149, 249–262.
Sustainability. 6 97
- Bahadir, T., Bakan, G., Altas, L., Buyukgungor, H. (2007). The investigation
of lead removal by biosorption: An application at storage battery industry
wastewaters. Enzyme Microb. Technol. 41, 98–102.
- Cazetta, A.L., Vargas, A.M.M., Nogami, E.M., Kunita, M.H., Guilherme,
M.R., Martins, A.C., Silva, T.L., Moraes, J.C.G., Almeida, V.C. (2011). NaOH-
activated carbon of high surface area produced from coconut shell: Kinetics and
equilibrium studies from the methylene blue adsorption. Chem. Eng. J. 174,
117–125.
- Doyurum, S., Celik, A. (2006). Pb(II) and Cd(II) removal fromaqueous
solutions by olive cake. J. Hazard. Mater. 138, 22–28.
- Goel, J., Kadirvelu, K., Rajagopal, C., Garg, V.K. (2005). Removal of lead(II)
by adsorption using treated granular activated carbon: Batch and column
studies. J. Hazard. Mater. 125, 211–220.
- Gupta, V.K., Agarwal, S., Saleh, T.A. (2011). Synthesis and characterization
of alumina-coated carbon nanotubes and their application for lead removal. J.
Hazard. Mater. 185, 17–23.
- Li, Y., Wang, S., Wei, J., Zhang, X., Xu, C., Luan, Z., Wu, D., Wei, B.(2002).
Lead adsorption on carbon nanotubes. Chem. Phys. Lett. 357, 263–266.
- Li, W., Yang, K., Peng, J., Zhang, L., Guo, S., Xia, H. (2008). Effects of
carbonization temperatures on characteristics of porosity in coconut shell chars
and activated carbons derived from carbonized coconut shell chars. Ind. Crop.
Prod. 28, 190–198.
- O’Connell, D.W., Birkinshaw, C., O’Dwyer, T.F. (2008). Heavy metal
adsorbents prepared from the modification of cellulose: A review. Bioresour.
Technol. 99, 6709–6724.
- Rao, M.M., Rao, G.P.C., Seshaiah, K., Choudary, N.V., Wang, M.C. (2008).
Activated carbon from Ceiba pentandra hulls, an agricultural waste, as an
adsorbent in the removal of lead and zinc from aqueous solutions. Waste
Manag. 28, 849–858.
- Ricordel, S., Taha, S., Cisse, I., Dorange, G. (2001). Heavy metals removal by
adsorption onto peanut husks carbon: Characterization, kinetic study and
modeling. Sep. Purif. Technol. 24, 389–401.
- Saeed, A., Iqbal, M., Akhtar, M.W. (2005). Removal and recovery of lead(II)
from single and multimetal (Cd, Cu, Ni, Zn) solutions by crop milling waste
(black gram husk). J. Hazard. Mater. 117, 65–73.
- Sekar, M., Sakthi, V., Rengaraj, S. (2004). Kinetics and equilibrium
adsorption study of lead(II) onto activated carbon prepared from coconut shell.
J. Colloid Interf. Sci. 279, 307–313.
- Wang, S., Gong, W., Liu, X., Yao, Y., Gao, B., Yue, Q. (2007). Removal of
lead(II) from aqueous solution by adsorption onto manganese oxide-coated
carbon nanotubes. Sep. Purif. Technol. 58, 17–23.
 CHAPTER TWO

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

Heavy metal are metallic elements with high atomic weight and density. These
include the transition metals, some metalloids, lanthanides and actinides.
Amounting to more than 20 metals generally exist in a positively charged form
and can bind on to negatively-charged organic molecules. Being metals ions,
heavy metal cannot be degraded or destroyed, therefore their stability make
them as the persistent toxic substances in environment.
Heavy metal as the environmental contaminants can be found in the air, soil and
water, which pose health hazard to the general public. Presence of heavy metal
in water as the contaminants is an indication of global industrialisation
attributed to large scale of inappropriate disposal and untreated of wastewater
containing heavy metal from anthropogenic sources (United Nations
Commission on Sustainable Development, 2010). Water functions as a medium
of transport for pollutants and they can be damaging to both living organisms
and the environment (Harrison, 2001). Heavy metal can bio-accumulate over a
period of time and the concentrations become apparent and measureable.
Through food chains and trophic levels, heavy metal bio-accumulation within
target oran or tissue of organisms can ultimately threaten human health.
Heavy metals in water can pose risks to human and ecological health. Lead is
one of the toxic heavy metals that can pose risks due to exposure from the
aquatic and air media (Wani et al., 2015). It is one of the major pollutants
responsible for soil, water, and atmospheric pollution, which is harmful to
aquatic and human life even at a low concentration (Blanco et al. 2021). Lead
can affect almost every organ and system in the human body. In particular,
children aged below 6 years are most sensitive to the effects of lead exposure.
Low concentrations of lead in children's blood can cause hearing and learning
problems, anemia, behavior anomalies, slowed growth, lower intelligence
quotient, and hyperactivity (Wani et al., 2015). During pregnancy, lead is
released from bones as maternal calcium and helps develop the foetus’s bones
(Wani et al.,2015). It can also cross the placental barrier exposing the foetus to
lead poisoning, resulting in severe effects on the mother and the developing
foetus, including reduced foetusE growth and premature birth (Charkiewicz,
and Backstrand., 2020; Wani et al., 2015). Adults exposed to lead can suffer
from cardiovascular effects, increased blood pressure and incidence of
hypertension, decreased kidney function, and reproductive problems
(Charkiewicz, and Backstrand., 2020; Wani et al. 2015). Due to its toxicity, the
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and US Environmental
Protection Agency (USEPA) have classified it as a probable human carcinogen
(USEPA 2004; WHO 2006). Health Canada has set the maximum acceptable
concentration (MAC) of lead in drinking water as 5 μg/L based on as low as
reasonably achievable (ALARA) (Health Canada 2020).

2.1 Water Pollution By Heavy Metal

Rapid acceleration of industrial growth throughout the world exerts negative
impacts to the environment. Discharge of contaminated effluents without
adequate treatment into the aquatic environment creates such implication.
Industrial wastewater which are associated with manufacturing of automobile,
purification of metals, electroplating, galvanizing, coating, paint, electronics,
pharmaceutical, chemicals and battery manufacturing are the most common
source of heavy metal pollution. Arsenic, cadmium, copper, chromium, lead,
mercury, nickel and zinc are normally found in heavy metal contaminated
wastewater (Duruibe et al., 2007). 20 Heavy metal exhibit toxic and persistent
characteristics, can enter into the food chains and the ecosystem where they
cause adverse impact on the biotic and abiotic components of ecosystem. Due to
the fact that water functions as a medium of transport for pollutants, heavy
metal damaging effects on both living organisms and the environment have
been observed (Veado et al., 2000; Goodyear and McNeill, 1999). Through
aqueous medium, the pollutants can bio-accumulate and bio-magnify over time
once they enter the biological system and ultimately they will reach high
concentration. When these toxicity by heavy metal become significant in the
trophic level, once it reaches human as the final consumer in the food web, the
health will be compromised.

2.2 LEAD (II) ION

Removal of lead ions from drinking water and wastewater is important for
source protection and safe water supplies. A few hundred publications were
reported on the removal of lead ions. The lead removal methodologies can be
broadly categorized into adsorption, chemical precipitation, electrochemical
reduction, ion exchange, liquid membrane separation, cementation, and solvent
extraction (Abdullah et al., 2019; Azimi et al., 2017). Among these methods,
adsorption has been reported to be the most popular process for its application
feasibility and higher efficiency.
Lead can affect almost every organ and system in the human body. In particular,
children aged below 6 years are most sensitive to the effects of lead exposure.
Low concentrations of lead in children's blood can cause hearing and learning
problems, anemia, behavior anomalies, slowed growth, lower intelligence
quotient, and hyperactivity (Wani et al. 2015). During pregnancy, lead is
released from bones as maternal calcium and helps develop the fetus's bones
(Wani et al. 2015). It can also cross the placental barrier exposing the fetus to
lead poisoning, resulting in severe effects on the mother and the developing
fetus, including reduced fetus growth and premature birth (Charkiewicz and
Backstrand 2020; Wani et al. 2015). Adults exposed to lead can sufer from
cardiovascular effects, increased blood pressure and incidence of hypertension,
decreased kidney function, and reproductive problems (Charkiewicz and
Backstrand 2020; Wani et al. 2015). Due to its toxicity, the International
Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and US Environmental Protection
Agency (USEPA) have classified it as a probable human carcinogen (USEPA
2004; WHO 2006). Health Canada has set the maximum acceptable
concentration (MAC) of lead in drinking water as 5 µg/L based on as low as
reasonably achievable (ALARA) (Health Canada 2020). The European
Community Directive and World Health Organization (WHO) have set the
maximum acceptable lead limits in tap water as 10 µg/L (Hayes and Hoekstra
2010; WHO 2011). The USEPA has an action level of 15 µg/L in drinking
water (USEPA 2009). Lead occurs as lead sulfide or complex ore of lead and
zinc sulfide in nature (Acharya 2013; Meena et al., 2020).
Lead and its byproducts are released into the soil, air, and aquatic environments
due to different industrial activities such as manufacturing industries of
matches, explosives, pigments, photographic materials, printing, storage
batteries, television tube, and paint industries (Kumar et al. 2020). It is also
released into the environment with automobile emissions, sewage discharge,
combustion of fossil fuel, urban and agricultural run of, forest fres, volcanic
eruptions, etc. (Cabral-Pinto et al. 2020; Cabral-Pinto and Ferreira da Silva
2019; Kumar et al. 2020). It can reach groundwater or surface water through
industrial and domestic wastewater discharged into the water bodies or from
acidic rain leached to the soils. In drinking water, the lead piping system is one
of the primary sources of lead contamination. Removal of lead ions from
drinking water and wastewater is important for source protection and safe water
supplies. A few hundred publications were reported on the removal of lead ions.
The lead removal methodologies can be broadly categorized into adsorption,
chemical precipitation, electrochemical reduction, ion exchange, liquid
membrane separation, cementation, and solvent extraction (Abdullah et al.
2019; Azimi et al. 2017). Among these methods, adsorption has been reported
to be the most popular process for its application feasibility and higher efciency.
The commonly used commercial adsorbents are zeolites, activated alumina,
silica gel, and synthetic polymers (Baimenov et al. 2020; Delgado et al. 2018;
Dlamini et al. 2020; Renu et al. 2017). In recent years, nanoparticles and carbon
nanotubes (CNTs) have been used as adsorbents for removing heavy metals
from water and wastewater (Fiyadh et al. 2019; Xu et al. 2018). The greater
pore diameter and pore volume increase the adsorption capacity of the CNTs
(Koh and Cheng 2014)

2.2.1 Technologies For Lead Removal

The most common methods for removing lead ions from water and wastewater
include precipitation, coagulation-focculation, ion exchange, adsorption, and
membrane separation. Precipitation and coagulation-focculation techniques
produce large amounts of sludge (Crini and Lichtfouse 2019). In addition, these
techniques are unlikely to reduce the lead ions to below the guideline value.
Ion-exchange is expensive and requires pretreatment for wastewater as the
exchanger matrices get clogged by the organics in the wastewater (Chowdhury
et al. 2016; Yuan and Wood 2018). Membrane distillation (MD), a thermally
driven membrane separation process, ofered high removal of heavy metals from
highly concentrated solutions (Lou et al. 2020; Alkhudhiri et al. 2020). The
maximum removal of lead ions was 98% using the air gap MD process
(Alkhudhiri et al. 2020). This study adopted adsorption method for the removal
of heavy metal lead (II) from waste water.

2.3 Adsorption
Adsorption is one of the most promising heavy metal removal techniques
because of its high efficiency and selectivity to remove certain type of metal,
while requiring low capital and operation costs. This is so as the design of
adsorption system is very simple and easy to operate (Ushakumary, 2013). Easy
reuse or recovery of adsorbent after adsorption helps to minimise the operating
cost. According to Ushakumary (2013), adsorption process can be operated
under a wide pH range (pH 2-9) and temperatures (4 – 90 ºC).
Adsorption is a process which takes place at an interface between any two
phases such as liquid-liquid, gas-liquid or solid-liquid interfaces (Barakat,
2011). It is also defined as separation process in adsorbent suspended with solid
particles, which the adsorbate is transferred from the bulk fluid phase to the
surface of the adsorbent particles. The molecules of bulk fluid phase tend to
attach and accumulate on the surface of the solid particles when the solid
surfaces are exposed to fluid phases.
Adsorption is a separation process where molecules tend to concentrate on the
surface of the adsorbent as a result of Van der Waals force which exists between
the molecules. The adsorbability of a compound increases with: increasing
molecular weight, a higher number of functional groups such as double bonds
or halogen compounds, increasing polarisability of the molecules. This
phenomenon is applied for waste water reuse
(http://www.ecologixsystems.com). The adsorption force is the sum of all the
interactions between all the atoms. The short range and additive nature of these
forces results in activated carbon having the strongest physical adsorption forces
of any known materials. In this chapter the fundamentals of gas phase and liquid
phase adsorptions are considered. Gas phase adsorption is a condensation
process where the adsorption forces condense the molecules from the bulk
phase within the pores of the adsorbent. The driving force for adsorption is the
ratio of the partial pressure and the vapour pressure of the compound liquid
phase adsorption is where the molecules move from the bulk phase to the pores
of the adsorbent in a semi-liquid state. The driving force here is the ratio of the
concentration to the solubility of the compound. There are two different kinds
of adsorption, which are physical adsorption and chemical adsorption (Jiaping,
2012).

2.3.1 Types of Adsorption

2.3.2 Physical Adsorption

Physical adsorption is the adsorption of molecules on the adsorbent particles
surfaces as a result of intermolecular forces of attraction (Ushakumary, 2013). It
is also known as the Van der Waals adsorption. Physical adsorption is often an
exothermic process. The energy involved between adsorbate and adsorbent is
usually the same magnitude but is normally a bit higher than the energy
condensation of the adsorbents. Thus, activation energy is not required because
generally physical adsorption system can achieve thermodynamic equilibrium
fairly and rapidly. The adsorption energy is usually within 80 kJ/mole, with
typical energies being considerably less (Webb, 2003).
In physical adsorption, the molecules are not specifically adsorped onto a
binding site of the adsorbent surface. The molecules diffuse along the adsorbent
surface. Physical adsorption is readily reversible because it is only weakly
bound by Van der Waals forces (Webb, 2003). This reversibility nature has
been applied to several industrial adsorption operations such as regeneration of
adsorbed substances, recovery of adsorbents to reuse and fractionation of
mixtures (Ushakumary, 2013). Undoubtedly, it helps to minimise the extraction
of virgin materials and maximise the potential of used materials. Molecules
which are physically adsorbed will retain its identity and recover to its original
form in the fluid phase when desorption is performed. Moreover, physical
adsorption can occur on any interface as long as the temperature and pressure
conditions are favourable. It occurs as a multilayer at relatively high pressure
(Webb, 2003).

2.3.3 Chemical Adsorption

Chemical adsorption, also known as chemisorption, involves chemical

interaction between the adsorbate and adsorbent surface (Ushakumary, 2013). It
has higher adsorption energy than purely physical adsorption. Heat of
adsorption for C-N bond can reach up to 600 kJ/mole and 800 kJ/mole for
chemical bonds (Webb, 2003). The chemical bonds are formed by electrons
sharing between the adsorbate and adsorbent, and the bonds result in formation
of surface compound.
In chemisorption, chemical reaction takes place so that the molecules are able to
attach onto specific binding sites of the adsorbents. Unlike physical adsorption,
chemisorption is irreversible due to its bond strength. Chemically adsorbed
molecules will lose their identities and cannot return to original form by
desorption. Furthermore, chemisorption is highly selective. It only occurs
between specific pairs of adsorbate and adsorbent or when chemically active
surface is free of previously adsorbed species (Webb, 2003). Chemisorption is a
single-layer process, which only occurs when the adsorptive species makes
direct contact with the surface except for highly polar adsorptive like NH3
(Webb, 2003).
In chemisorption, large activation energy is required due to insufficient thermal
energy to achieve thermodynamic equilibrium at low temperature.
Chemisorption may be exothermic or endothermic as a wide range of energy is
involved. The energy of chemisorption is roughly equal to the energy involved
in a comparable chemical reaction.

2.3.4 Factors Affecting Adsorption

There are some factors that will have impact on the adsorption, such as surface
area of adsorbent (particle size), pH, initial concentration, adsorbent dosage and
contact time.
Surface area of the adsorbents is a key factor that affects the adsorption process.
Smaller particles size of adsorbents will have larger surface area exposed, thus,
improves the adsorption performance. Hence, more heavy metal ions can be
removed. Larger particle size will have lower adsorption performance as large
metal ions are unable to enter every initial pore of the adsorbent (Ushakumary,
2013).
Furthermore, pH value also greatly affects the adsorption performance. The
active sites of the adsorbent surface as well as the property of adsorbents will be
affected by pH. The influence of pH is indicated by the charge on the adsorbent
surface (Ushakumary, 2013). At low pH, negatively charged adsorbent surface
will be neutralized by large number of H+ ions. This enhances diffusion and
adsorption process. On contrary, at high pH, competition happens between the
H+ ions and the positively charged adsorbent surface and leads to a decline in
adsorption performance (Jiaping, 2012).
Moreover, initial metal ions concentration is also another factor which affects
adsorption. The initial concentration of metal ions delivers a driving force that
enables the transport of heavy metal ions from the adsorbate to the adsorbent
surface (Sahmoune, Louhab and Boukhiar, 2011; Taha, Arifien and El-Nahas,
2011).When the initial metal ions concentration increases, the adsorption
performance of the adsorbent increases.
Adsorbent dosage also has major effect on the adsorption process. When
adsorbent dosage increases, the adsorption of metals also increases. There are
several reports that proved this statement. For example, according to a study
conducted by Kumar et al. (2012), it is discovered that the removal of Cd (II)
increased quickly with the increase in cashew nut shell dosage. This is
explained by the high number of adsorption sites due to high adsorbent dosage.
Another factor that affects adsorption is contact time.When the contact time
between adsorbent and adsorbate increases, the adsorption of heavy metal ions
also increases until it reaches equilibrium. Equilibrium time is achieved
whenever the adsorption reaches a state of dynamic equilibrium with
desorption. It is a very critical factor because it indicates the maximum
adsorption capacity of adsorbent, which all the adsorption sites are occupied
with the metal ions to be adsorbed (Azouaou et al., 2010; Maria Martinez et al.,
2006; Mohammad Mehdi et al., 2011). Longer contact time does not entirely
represents better adsorption. The optimum contact time for better adsorption
actually corresponds to the types of adsorbents used.
Selectivity of adsorbents towards certain metal ions could have an impact on
adsorption. Several studies had shown that different adsorbents might have
different 18 affinity towards different metal ions. For instances, according to
Mosa et al. (2011), cotton stalks had better selectivity towards Pb (II) adsorption
than Mn (II). Moreover, Taha et al. (2011) discovered the selectivity could also
be associated with the hydrated ionic radii of the metal ions to be adsorbed. He
found that potato peels had better selectivity towards Pb (II), followed by Cd
(II) and Zn (II). However, the hydrated radii decreased from Zn (II) to Pb (II).
Hence, the selectivity of adsorbents towards metals increased with their
decreasing hydrated radii.
2.4 Adsorbents
There is a variety of adsorbents that are employed in the industry for heavy
metal removal. These adsorbents can be categorised into activated carbon (AC),
natural source adsorbents, agro-waste adsorbents, biomass adsorbents and by-
product adsorbents.
Agro-waste is waste generated by agriculture activities such as farming
activities and is often disposed to the landfill (Lim and Matu, 2015). Nowadays,
a wide range of agro-wastes have been studied for their efficiency in eliminating
different metal ions from wastewater with the goal to replace AC.
The commonly used commercial adsorbents are zeolites, activated alumina,
silica gel, and synthetic polymers (Baimenov et al. 2020; Delgado et al. 2018;
Dlamini et al. 2020; Renu et al. 2017). In recent years, nanoparticles and carbon
nanotubes (CNTs) have been used as adsorbents for removing heavy metals
from water and wastewater (Fiyadh et al. 2019; Xu et al. 2018). The greater
pore diameter and pore volume increase the adsorption capacity of the CNTs
(Koh and Cheng 2014).
In this project, coconut shell waste had been selected as the potential low-cost
adsorbents for the removal of lead (II) from wastewater.

2.5 ACTIVATED CARBON

Activated carbon, also known as activated charcoal, is a form of carbon
processed to have small, low-volume pores that increase the surface area
available for adsorption or chemical reactions.
- It has high degree of micro-porosity.
- The word 'active' is also sometimes used for 'activated'.
- The surface area may vary greatly depending upon precusor (raw material)
and the condition of carbonization for making active carbon
- As determined by gas adsorption, people (Dillon Jr. et al., 1989) used
activated charcoals having surface area like 1500 and 3,000 m2 /g in their
research work.
- An activation level sufficient for useful application may be obtained solely
from high surface area.
- Chemical treatment has been found to enhance the adsorption properties of
activated carbon.
- AC is usually derived from charcoal.
- When derived from coal, it is referred to as activated coal.
- Activated coke is derived from coke.
- Therefore activated carbon, activated charcoal, activated coke, active carbon
may be said to perform the same function.
- Chemical or physical activation methods and microwave radiation methods
are the commonly used techniques adopted for preparation of activated carbon.
- They are used as an adsorbent by the separation and purification industries.
- They are composed of a microporous, homogenous structure with high
surface area and show radiation stability.
- Their adsorption capacity depends on porosity and its surface chemistry
 POWDER GRANULES PELLETS

FIGURE 1. Activated carbon powder, granules and pellets

2.6 WASTE WATER

Wastewater is water whose physical, chemical or biological properties have
been changed as a result of the introduction of certain substances which render
it unsafe for some purposes such as drinking. The day to day activities of man is
mainly water dependent and therefore discharge ‘waste’ into water. Some of the
substances include body wastes (faeces and urine), hair shampoo, hair, food
scraps, fat, laundry powder, fabric conditioners, toilet paper, chemicals,
detergent, household cleaners, dirt, micro-organisms (germs) which can make
people ill and damage the environment. It is known that much of water supplied
ends up as wastewater which makes its treatment very important. Wastewater
treatment is the process and technology that is used to remove most of the
contaminants that are found in wastewater to ensure a sound environment and
good public health. Wastewater Management therefore means handling
wastewater to protect the environment to ensure public health, economic, social
and political soundness (Metcalf and Eddy, 1991).

2.6.1 Brief History of Wastewater Treatment

Wastewater treatment is a fairly new practice although drainage systems were

built long before the nineteenth century. Before this time, “night soil” was
placed in buckets along streets and workers emptied them into “honeywagon”
tanks. This was sent to rural areas and disposed off over agricultural lands. In
the nineteenth century, flush toilets led to an increase in the volume of waste for
these agricultural lands. Due to this transporting challenge, cities began to use
drainage and storm sewers to convey wastewater into waterbodies against the
recommendation of Edwin Chadwick in 1842 that “rain to the river and sewage
to the soil”. The discharge of waste into water courses led to gross pollution and
health problems for downstream users.
In 1842, an English engineer named Lindley built the first “modern” sewerage
system for wastewater carriage in Hamburg, Germany. The improvement of the
Lindley system is basically in improved materials and the inclusion of manholes
and sewer appurtenances—the Lindley principles are still upheld today.
Treatment of wastewater became apparent only after the assimilative capacity of
the waterbodies was exceeded and health problems became intolerable.
Between the late 1800s and early 1900s, various options were tried until in
1920, the processes we have today were tried. Its design was however empirical
until midcentury. Centralized wastewater systems were designed and
encouraged. The cost of wastewater treatment is borne by communities
discharging into the plant. Today there have been great advances to make
portable water from wastewater. In recent times, regardless of the capacity of
the receiving stream, a minimum treatment level is required before discharge
permits are granted (Peavy, Rowe and Tchobanoglous, 1985).
Also presently, the focus is shifting from centralized systems to more
sustainable decentralized wastewater treatment (DEWATS) especially for
developing countries like Ghana where wastewater infrastructure is poor and
conventional methods are difficult to manage (Adu-Ahyia and Anku, 2010).

2.6.2 Objectives of Wastewater Treatment

Wastewater treatment is very necessary for the above-mentioned reasons. It is

more vital for the:
Reduction of biodegradable organic substances in the environment: organic
substances such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur in organic matter
needs to be broken down by oxidation into gases which is either released or
remains in solution.
Reduction of nutrient concentration in the environment: nutrients such as
nitrogen and phosphorous from wastewater in the environment enrich water
bodies or render it eutrophic leading to the growth of algae and other aquatic
plants. These plants deplete oxygen in water bodies and this hampers aquatic
life.
Elimination of pathogens: organisms that cause disease in plants, animals and
humans are called pathogens. They are also known as micro-organisms because
they are very small to be seen with the naked eye. Examples of micro-organisms
include bacteria (e.g. vibro cholerae), viruses (e.g. enterovirus, hepatits A & E
virus), fungi (e.g. candida albicans), protozoa (e.g entamoeba hystolitica,
giardia lamblia) and helminthes (e.g. schistosoma mansoni, asaris
lumbricoides). These micro-organisms are excreted in large quantities in faeces
of infected animals and humans (Awuah and Amankwaa-Kuffuor, 2002).
Recycling and Reuse of water: Water is a scarce and finite resource which is
often taken for granted. In the last half of the 20th century, population has
increased resulting in pressure on the already scarce water resources.
Urbanization has also changed the agrarian nature of many areas. Population
increase means more food has to be cultivated for the growing population and
agriculture as we know is by far the largest user of available water which means
that economic growth is placing new demands on available water supplies. The
temporal and spatial distribution of water is also a major challenge with
groundwater resources being overdrawn (National Academy, 2005).

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