Laboratory Studies on the Treatment of Effluent from a Pulp and Paper Mill Using Activated Carbon and Sand Filter Media

Abstract

Aims: To investigate and compare the efficiency and synergistic effect of carbon and sand filter column setup in the treatment of a pulp and paper mill effluent. Study Design: This study presents a report on preliminary laboratory investigation on the treatment of a pulp and paper industry effluent using the synergy of activated carbon prepared from maize cobs and nitric acid treated quartz sand packed in a glass column as filtration media. The amount of sand and activated carbon were varied systematically to optimize the process. Changes in the properties of the effluent were recorded after series of tests before and after treatment procedure. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Chemistry, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria, Department of Industrial Chemistry, Caritas University Enugu, Nigeria and Centre for Environmental Management and Control, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Nigeria, between April 2013 and November 2014. Methodology: Quality Parameters of the effluent sample were tested in the laboratory and the means presented. The carbon was made from corn cobs and activated with phosphoric acid while the quartz sand was well washed and acidified with dilute nitric acid. A laboratory setup of the carbon-sand filter was used to treat the wastewater by filtration and adsorption. Five separate setups were made and the sorbents used were systematically loaded using the formula C = -S(%) +100 and drained at a rate of 1.53 ml/s. The physicochemical, oxygen and bacteriological quality parameters were tested again and the means of the results recorded before and after each treatment procedure. Results: The results obtained were also compared with the Nigerian Standard for drinking water quality (NIS 554:2007), demonstrated that the method was excellent for the improvement of physiochemical, oxygen and bacteriological parameters in the wastewater. Conclusion: The values of the treatment efficiency show that the experimental setup with 30% sand and 70% activated carbon was the most suitable for effluent treatment.