Copper and Zinc Removal from Wastewater Using Alum Sludge Recovered from Water Treatment Plant

Alia Besma Abba (), Sofiane Saggai, Youcef Touil, Nadhir Al-Ansari, Saber Kouadri, Fatima Zohra Nouasria, Hadee Mohammed Najm, Nuha S. Mashaan, Moutaz Mustafa A. Eldirderi and Khaled Mohamed Khedher
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Alia Besma Abba: Laboratory of Water and Environment Engineering in Saharan Environment, University of Ouargla, PB 147 RP, Ouargla 30000, Algeria
Sofiane Saggai: Laboratory of Water and Environment Engineering in Saharan Environment, University of Ouargla, PB 147 RP, Ouargla 30000, Algeria
Youcef Touil: Laboratory of Biogeochemical of Desert Environment, University of Ouargla, PB 147 RP, Ouargla 30000, Algeria
Nadhir Al-Ansari: Department of Civil Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Lulea University of Technology, 97187 Lulea, Sweden
Saber Kouadri: Laboratory of Water and Environment Engineering in Saharan Environment, University of Ouargla, PB 147 RP, Ouargla 30000, Algeria
Fatima Zohra Nouasria: Dynamic Interactions and Reactivity of Systems, University of Ouargla, PB 147 RP, Ouargla 30000, Algeria
Hadee Mohammed Najm: Department of Civil Engineering, Zakir Husain Engineering College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002, India
Nuha S. Mashaan: Faculty of Science and Engineering, School of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia
Moutaz Mustafa A. Eldirderi: Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, King Khalid University, Abha 61421, Saudi Arabia
Khaled Mohamed Khedher: Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, King Khalid University, Abha 61421, Saudi Arabia

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 16, 1-13

Abstract: The study aimed to determine Aluminum sludge composition and structure for its valorisation as an alternative natural material for heavy metals removal from wastewater for further reuse as treated water in different applications. The study was conducted to investigate the introduction of Al-bearing sludge composition. The physical and chemical properties were examined using X-ray diffraction tests (XRD), scanning electron microscope tests (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared tests (FTIR), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller tests (BET). Furthermore, the heavy metal concentrations of synthetic wastewater were measured using the spectrophotometry method. The experimental procedure is based on testing different pH limits and amounts of aluminum sludge to find the optimum conditions for copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) removal. The results demonstrated a high removal efficiency where its value reached up to 97.4% and 96.6% for Zn and Cu, respectively, in an acidic medium (pH = 6) using a relatively high amount of sludge (1400 mg). Nevertheless, a low efficiency was obtained in the strongly acidic medium (pH = 4) and a smaller sludge amount of about 480 mg.

Keywords: aluminum sludge; heavy metals; zinc; copper; wastewater; reuse treatment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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