Synthesis of porous pig bone char as adsorbent for removal of DBP precursors from surface water

Abstract

Abstract This research study aims to investigate the efficiency of synthesized porous pig bone char (PBC) for reduction of disinfection by-product (DBP) precursors from surface water. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is commonly present in natural water and acts as a disinfection by-product precursor. Adsorption is one of the promising technologies that is commonly applied for DOM removal. Interestingly, the properties of pig bone are such that it has a surface area and pore volumes that can adsorb DOM. Pig bone was synthesized as porous bone char (PBC). The results show that synthesized PBC at 900 °C (PBC-900 °C) provides a high volume of mesoporous structure. The adsorption process was best fitted with the pseudo-second-order and Freundlich isotherm model. Thus, the mechanisms occurred on the multilayer adsorption of the surface. PBC-900 °C can remove approximately 70–80% of DOM with varying concentrations, from 0.2 g/L to 0.8 g/L. Furthermore, the results of fluorescence excitation–emission (FEEM) showed that humic acids and humic-like substances in water can be removed by using PBC at concentrations higher than 0.4 g/L. From the obtained results, it can be concluded that PBC is an alternative low-cost adsorbent which can be utilized for reduction of DBP precursors from water.