Adsorption Kinetics for the Removal of Chromium(VI) from Synthetic Waste Water Using Adsorbent Derived from Saw Dust, Bark and Rice Husk

Chromium(VI) is one of the main pollutant of the environment. Chromium(VI) is one of most important heavy metal used in various industry. It is most toxic, teratogenic, carcinogenic and probably mutagenic. It is highly soluble and easily accumulated to living organism. Thus Cr(VI) effluents causes very lethal environmental hazards. Since the effect of Cr(VI) on human health and environment is a matter of concern. Therefore it is necessary to remove the Cr(VI) from waste water before disposal. In this study we remove Cr(VI) by using activated carbon derived from saw dust and bark of Eucalyptus, Neem and Rice husk carbon via adsorption process. Adsorption process was investigated as contact time, pH of aq. solution and adsorbent dose dependent (Baral et al. Bioresour Technol 91:305–507, 2008). Acid activation (H₂SO₄) give the maximum percentage yield of activated carbon. So we used H₂SO₄ for the preparation of activated carbon from adsorbents. Potassium dichromate as a synthetic contaminant is used for preparing the aqueous solution for the evaluation of removal potential of Cr(VI) by these adsorbent. The adsorption potential of these derived adsorbents is compared with another adsorbents (Bayat, J Hazard Mater B95: 275–290, 2002). The Cr(VI) concentration was determined by UV spectrophotometer. The batch experiments were conducted for this study (Bhattacharya et al. J Hazard Mater 171:83–92, 2009). Results shows that the maximum Cr(VI) removal 94.33 % was achieved at pH 2.0 with 5 gm of adsorbent dose with 3 h of contact time by saw dust carbon of Eucalyptus. The study demonstrates that SDC, bark (Eucalyptus, Neem) and RHC have the potential to become an effective agent for the removal or Cr(VI) from synthetic waste water. The experiment have isotherm and kinetic study. The study was analyze by Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms and Pseudo First order and Pseudo Second order kinetic study.