Remediation of Emerging Pollutants in Industrial Contaminated Water using Oxytenanthera abyssinica and Bambusa vulgaris in a Treatment Media

Abstract

Remediation of emerging pollutants is an aspect of environmental research with sparse information and knowledge, and the disposal of, these pollutants to the environment are mostly unregulated and on the increase. In view of this, the study examined the adsorptive capacity of adsorbent produced from Oxytenanthera abyssinica (COA 350°C KCl) and Bambusa vulgaris (CBV 350°C H3PO4) in remediating Pharmaceutical actives contaminants (PhACs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy Dispersive X-ray were used in characterizing adsorbents. Derivative form of Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) and Liquid-Liquid extraction procedures were used for extracting selected PhACs and PAHs from sampled solutions respectively. Batch experiments were performed to study the adsorption capacity of adsorbents at varying contact time of 30min, 2hrs and 12hrs for PAHs and 30, 180, 360, 720 and 1440 mins for PhACs. Analysis of PhACs and PAHs concentrations for each sampling were determined by UV spectrophotometer and GC-MS respectively. The samples showed sharp absorption peaks at 3432 and 1632 cm−1 indicating O-H stretched and N-H stretched. The adsorbents showed both open and close pores. Carbon, Oxygen and Nitrogen in the adsorbent for CBV were 62.00, 33.53 and 3.98 and COA were 71.00, 22.80 weight percent, respectively. The adsorbents had good surface areas, pore volumes and pore sizes. Removal efficiency of COA showed the highest efficiency for PhACs removal at (73.3%, 78.1% and 86.2%) while CBV (63.9 %, 66.7% and 82.2%) for paracetamol, salbutamol and chlorpheniramine, respectively. CBV and COA ranged from 42.5-81.2% and 8.9-65.5% for PAHs removal respectively. The experimental result showed that adsorbents made from Oxytenanthera abyssinaca and Bambusa vulgaris can efficiently adsorb selected PhACs and PAHs in industrial Contaminated Water.

Adsorption Technique an Alternative Treatment for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAHs) and Pharmaceutical Active Compounds (PhACs)

“…26.25w/w of activator was used in the activation of the carbonated samples. Characterization was done chemically using Point of zero charge (pH pzc) and The Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used to view the surface structure of the samples at a magnification of 100, 300, 500, 2000, and 5000 times the original size to view the pore space development and reveal other information such as texture (external morphology) and structural orientation see Figure 2 [10]. The point of zero charge (pH pzc) was used for further determination of pore and adsorption capacity.…”

“…One of such is the (PhACs) which are products of synthetic chemicals, natural organic chemicals, or microorganisms not controlled. They possess the ability to penetrate the aquatic environment and alter the natural quality leading to adverse health issues in human and ecological disorders [9,10].…”

“…The Petroleum and Pharmaceutical industries are seen among others as major contributors of organic contaminants because of continuous usage and pollutant from them are emerging and steady in the environment [10].…”

“…Petroleum and pharmaceutical Industries have been seen as major generating sources of organic contaminants that create adverse effects on surface water which are the primary source of livelihood. For water to be available in its pure state, identifying and remediating processes of those contaminants is key, if clean water is a necessity [10].…”

Development of gold(i) phosphorescent tweezers for sensing applications

“…31 The chemically stable structure of PAHs makes them very persistent compounds in the environment. 32 As a consequence, they can accumulate in remote places 33 and enter the human food chain. 34 It has been demonstrated that these pollutants alter specific and non-specific immunities in fish and mammals 35 and can also affect pregnant women, developing health issues in the embryo.…”