A comparative study with different types of granular activated carbons (GACs) for nitrate
removal from water has been carried out. Three important GACs viz. coconut, lignite and
wood were selected for this study. All virgin GACs were treated with zinc
chloride (ZnCl<sub>2</sub>) and carbonized. The optimal conditions were selected by studying the
influence of process variables such as chemical weight ratio and activation temperature.
Experimental results reveal that chemical weight ratio of 200% and temperature of 500
ºC was found to be optimum for the maximum adsorption of nitrate from aqueous
solutions. The comparison between virgin and ZnCl<sub>2</sub> treated GACs indicate that treatment
with ZnCl<sub>2</sub> has significantly improved the adsorption efficacy of all GACs, especially the
efficiency of coconut GAC has increased up to 6 folds. The adsorption of nitrate on
different zinc chloride treated GACs was found in the order: coconut GAC > lignite GAC
> wood GAC. The adsorption of nitrate on ZnCl<sub>2</sub> treated GACs was studied as a function
of contact time and temperature. The kinetic study reveals that equilibrium was achieved
within one hour. The adsorption data conform best to the Langmuir isotherm. Results of
this study recommend that adsorption process using ZnCl<sub>2</sub> treated coconut GAC
might be a promising innovative technology in future for nitrate removal from drinking
water. Includes 16 references, tables, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 210 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 10 |
| Published : | 11/01/2007 |
