Feasibility studies on the removal of iron and fluoride from aqueous solution by adsorption using agro based waste materials

Abstract

Basically heavy metals are non biodegradable and are highly toxic due to their inherent composition of contaminants These non biodegradable heavy metals could accumulate in human system through food chain and cause various dreadful diseases and permanent disabilities and in worst cases it leads to casual losses Further the presence of excess quantity of such heavy metals viz Lead Cadmium Chromium Nickel Zinc Copper Iron etc seriously affect the natural quality of potable water and necessitates the Treatment process for removal Though there are dozens of standard procedures available for the removal of heavy metals their cost keep the industrialists away from adopting such technologies Due to this these technologies involving the standard procedures remain at an inaccessible distance till date and their applications do not find a significant place in Environmental Engineering Subsequently the wastewater containing heavy metals are directly let into water bodies without any further treatment process Recently the interest in the application of agro based waste materials has grown in the removal of contaminants from the industrial effluents More over these agro based waste materials are found to be economically cheaper than commercial activated carbon and other treatment processes