Removal of chromium (VI) from industrial wastewater using a low-cost bio adsorbent.
Abstract
The main aim of this study was to investigate the removal of chromium (VI) ions from synthetic
wastewater using banana pith-derived bio adsorbent, an abundantly available agricultural waste
product. In this study, adsorption of chromium (VI) ions on the banana pith-derived bio adsorbent
was studied using batch adsorption techniques. The main objectives of this study were to prepare
a low-cost bio adsorbent from waste banana pith and to assess the effect of adsorbent dosage,
contact time and pH on adsorption efficiency of the prepared adsorbent.
The results of this study showed that the optimum contact time for the adsorption of chromium by
banana pith was 90 minutes and after that, not more than 1.5% removal of chromium (IV) was
observed. The results also showed that the highest percentage of chromium removal was observed
at low pH and that was 36.12% and that increase in the adsorbent dosage also increased the
percentage of chromium removed. The results indicate that banana pith-derived bio adsorbent can
be employed as a low-cost alternative to commercial adsorbents in the removal of chromium (VI)
from wastewater