Production of activated carbon from sawdust and its efficiency in the treatment of sewage water

Abstract

When water is contaminated and rendered unfit for drinking, it is regarded as waste, which leads to water pollution. Several works have been done to control water pollution, yet this topic is still a point of concern up to date. The study involves the production of activated carbon (AC) using sawdust to treat sewage water obtained from Covenant University. The following conditions were investigated; activation time and temperature, activating agent concentration, and impregnation time. The AC was characterized by measuring ash content, iodine value, moisture, and volatile matter content. The optimum activated carbon prepared in this study had iodine of 1628.95 mg/gm, while the minimum activated carbon had an iodine of 470.41 mg/gm. According to standard procedure, the sewage water sample was characterized physio-chemically before and after treatment using activated carbon as an adsorbent. The results obtained indicated considerable improvement in the quality of the water. When optimum activated carbon was used for treatment, pH value changed from 7.7 to 7.10, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) was reduced from 288 mg/l to 20 mg/l and Total dissolved solids (TDS) reduced from 183.7 mg/l to 16.4 mg/l, Total suspended solids (TSS) reduced 232 mg/l to 15.7 mg/l. When minimum activated carbon was used for treatment, pH value changed from 7.7 to 7.60, BOD was reduced from 288 mg/l to 112.2 mg/l, and TDS reduced from 232 mg/l to 174 mg/l, TSS reduced 183.7 mg/l to 103 mg/l. The results obtained led to the conclusion that the produced activated carbon effectively treats the above-stated water quality parameters.

Keywords

• Activated carbon
• Treatment
• Sewage water
• Water pollution