Production of Activated carbon derived from Banana peel for the removal of Cd2+ and Cr6+ in Brewery wastewater

Abstract

Heavy metal pollution of waste water has significant impact on the environment. This study was designed to investigate the use of activated carbon produced from local raw materials (banana peels) for the adsorption of Cd²⁺ and Cr⁶⁺ from waste water discharge from Brewery industry. Batch adsorption experiment was used for the study and the results obtained indicated that the adsorption increases linearly with increase in temperature, which pointed toward chemisorption mechanism. Initial increase succeeded by decrease after critical values were observed for influence of pH and adsorbent dosage on the adsorption. The adsorption behaviour of the cadmium and chromium ions fitted the Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models, which also confirmed that the produced activated carbon adsorbed cadmium ion better than chromium ion