Phenol is an environmental pollutant; the present study was conducted to examine the adsorption of phenol by rice straw. For this purpose raw (untreated), physically treated (boiled and dried) and thermally treated (heated at 230°C for 3 h to produce ash) rice straw were selected to determine phenol removal efficiency at different contact times and adsorbent dosages for 1 and \1 mm rice straw particles. Residual phenol concentrations were determined by colorimetric method. Highest 84 % of phenol removal was observed for thermally treated \1 mm rice straw particle. Equilibrium time was more than four hour. Percentage of removal of phenol increased as the adsorbent dose increase. The removal efficiency increase in the order of: raw rice straw \ physically treated \ thermally treated (ash) rice straw. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm was developed for 1 and \1 mm particle size of thermally (ash) treated rice straw. Freundlich isotherm best fit the equilibrium data for 1 mm thermally treated rice straw. The results showed that thermally treated rice straw (ash) can be developed as a potential adsorbent for phenol removal from aqueous solution.

The present study was undertaken to determine the heavy metal levels and the physicochemical parameters (pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and ash, moisture, and total sugar content) of honeys from Bangladesh. Three different floral honeys were investigated, namely, khalsi (Aegiceras corniculatum), mustard (Brassica juncea), and litchi (Litchi chinensis) honeys. The heavy metals in the honeys were determined by using a High Temperature Dry Oxidation method followed by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy. The mean pH, EC, and ash, moisture, and total sugar contents of the investigated honeys were 3.6, 0.51 mS/cm, 0.18%, 18.83%, and 68.30%, respectively. Iron was the most abundant among all the investigated heavy metals, ranging from 13.51 to 15.44 mg/kg. The mean concentrations of Mn and Zn in the investigated honeys were 0.28 mg/kg and 2.99 mg/kg, respectively. Cd was below the detection limit, and lead was found in some honey samples, but their contents were below the recommended Maximum Acceptable Level. Cr was also found in all of the samples, but its concentration was within the limit. The physicochemical analysis of the honey samples yielded levels within the limits set by the international honey legislation, indicating that the honey samples were of good quality and had acceptable values for maturity, purity, and freshness.

Pharmaceutical industries in Bangladesh are considered as one major industrial as well as environmental pollution problems which discharge a significant amount of organic contaminants in the environment hence require advanced treatment technologies to decontaminate pharmaceutical wastewater. In the present investigation, areca nut husk treated activated carbon (ANHC) was used as an adsorbent to remove chemical oxygen demand (COD) from pharmaceutical effluent as well as a comparative adsorption efficiency with commercial activated carbon (CAC) was performed.  The batch experiments were carried out in a laboratory scale. The materials also evaluated for different adsorbent dosages and contact times. The experiment revealed a removal percentage up to 70% for ANHC and 90% for CAC for 3g of adsorbents in 180 min. The adsorption processes were satisfactorily described by pseudo-second-order (PSO) kinetic model which shows a better fitting with the maximum regression coefficient for both adsorbents. The results show that Langmuir model best described the experimental data with a highest correlation coefficient (R2=0.9856 for ANHC and 0.9993 for CAC) compared to Freundlich model and the experimental data showed asorption capacity of 36.549 and 64.935 mg/g for ANHC and CAC, correspondingly. According to the adsorption studies, the results revealed that COD adsorption process followed by the monolayer chemisorption mechanisms. The results revealed that ANHC adsorbent is potentially low cost and environmental friendly adsorbent for the removal of organic matter from pharmaceutical effluent.