Investigation on the sorption of aluminium in drinking water by low-cost adsorbents

Abstract

Aluminium is one of the trace inorganic metals present in drinking water. High aluminium concentrations (3.6 to 6 mg/ℓ) may precipitate as aluminium hydroxide affecting aquatic life. Aluminium is also a suspected agent of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer\'s disease and senile dementia. The present investigation aims at the sorption of aluminium from drinking water using a low-cost adsorbent. Rice husk char and activated rice husk char were prepared and characterised for various physicochemical properties. The performance of rice husk char (RHC) was compared with other low-cost adsorbents for their aluminium removal capacity. The effect of pH, initial concentration, contact time and temperature was studied for adsorption of aluminium from water under batch conditions. The maximum adsorption capacity was observed with rice husk char at an optimal pH of 4.2. The adsorption of aluminium follows the Freundlich adsorption isotherm. The rate of aluminium adsorption was successfully described by a first-order kinetic model. The thermodynamic study revealed that aluminium adsorption is an exothermic process and the adsorption decreases with an increase in temperature.

Water SA Vol 32(1)pp:49-54