Heavy metals are often toxic to plants and aquatic life. Runoff from mining practices, poorly managed waste sites, and unregulated industrial activity can render water courses and soils unusable.
Heavy metals must be removed to avoid illness and environmental damage. The use of an activated carbon filter is one of the most effective, dependable, and long-lasting methods, of heavy metal immobilization.
Does activated carbon remove heavy metals?
Heavy metal contamination is primarily caused by industrial waste. Granular activated carbon is shown to eliminate heavy metals from wastewater, respectively. The large surface area is directly responsible for the high success rate.
Granulated Activated Carbon Filters in Biological Settings
Heavy metals do not play well with biological systems (except those directly involved), so their removal is critical. Using yeast, it has been demonstrated that biological systems can be used to improve GAC removal.
This GAC-biosorbent combination has been shown to be effective at removing cadmium, copper, and zinc from solution. 90% of metal ions are removed from solution when the GAC-yeast-alginate, combined heterogeneous filter is used.
Features of Granulated Activated Carbon filters for the removal of heavy metals
1. Granular activated carbon is a fantastic material for removing a wide range of materials, and contaminants from water.
2. Heavy metals are among the most harmful pollutants produced by activities, such as mining. GAC filtration easily removes iron and manganese residues.
3. Heavy metals that are much more toxic (and thus problematic), pose a greater risk and are also removed from standing or running water by GAC filtration.
4. When GAC filtration is combined with biological systems such as yeast, it can provide an even more effective filtration pathway, for some of the most difficult contaminants to isolate.
5. GAC is easily modified at the surface, for example, by acidification, which may aid in modulating GAC's surface properties, to have even broader applications.
Removal of heavy metals with activated carbon
The removal percentages of metals with different initial concentrations, using activated carbon are as follows.
|
Elements |
Initial Concentration (ppm) |
Residual Concentration (ppm) |
Removal Percentage (%) |
|
Cadmium |
30.00 |
4.00 |
86.00 |
|
|
50.00 |
8.10 |
84.00 |
|
|
100.00 |
30.20 |
70.00 |
|
|
200.00 |
67.80 |
66.10 |
|
Lead |
30.00 |
5.00 |
83.00 |
|
|
50.00 |
13.00 |
74.00 |
|
|
100.00 |
27.00 |
73.00 |
|
|
200.00 |
60.80 |
69.60 |
|
Chromium |
30.00 |
14.80 |
50.60 |
|
|
50.00 |
25.90 |
48.20 |
|
|
100.00 |
70.40 |
29.60 |
|
|
200.00 |
151.90 |
24.00 |
|
Nickel |
30.00 |
3.00 |
90.00 |
|
|
50.00 |
6.10 |
87.80 |
|
|
100.00 |
15.20 |
84.40 |
|
|
200.00 |
31.80 |
84.10 |
|
Zinc |
30.00 |
4.90 |
83.60 |
|
|
50.00 |
9.40 |
81.20 |
|
|
100.00 |
23.80 |
77.20 |
|
|
200.00 |
50.20 |
74.90 |
Is activated carbon treatment an economic approach for the removal of heavy metals from industrial wastewater?
Because, of the increased use of heavy metals in industry, metallic substances are more readily available in natural water sources. To remove metal pollutants from water, many technologies such as adsorption, precipitation, membrane filtration, and ion exchange have been used.
Adsorption has proven to be a cost-effective and efficient method for eliminating heavy metals, organic pollutants, and dyes from polluted waters. Water purification can make use of a variety of adsorbents, including activated carbon, silica, and graphene.
Activated carbon has been shown to be an effective adsorbent for removing a wide range of organic and inorganic contaminants, from the aquatic environment.
Conclusion
Pollution of soil, rivers, lakes, seawater, and groundwater is one of the environmental issues, caused by industrial waste, chemicals applied to agricultural soils as fertilizers, and other facilities.
Heavy metals in the soil and water may increase as a result of such applications. The removal of heavy metal ions from aquatic solutions, is regarded as the most serious environmental issue, confronting each country today. Due to their large mesopores and micropore volumes, activated carbon and charcoal adsorbents are widely used for the elimination of heavy metal pollutants.
How can we assist?
A wide variety of wastewater treatment options are offered by Netsol Water, including activated carbon, membrane filtration, flotation, coagulation, electrodialysis and many more advanced treatment plants, to eliminate heavy metals from wastewater and water.
Netsol Water is Greater Noida-based leading water & wastewater treatment plant manufacturer. We are industry's most demanding company based on client review and work quality. We are known as best commercial RO plant manufacturers, industrial RO plant manufacturer, sewage treatment plant manufacturer, Water Softener Plant Manufacturers and effluent treatment plant manufacturers. Apart from this 24x7 customer support is our USP. Call on +91-9650608473, or write us at enquiry@netsolwater.com for any support, inquiry or product-purchase related query.