Adsorption modelling and fixed-bed column study on milk processing industry wastewater treatment using chitosan zinc-oxide nano-adsorbent coated sand bed

Abstract

Abstract The milk processing industry produces a large amount of effluent that contains a lot of organic contaminants. Effluents, if improperly disposed of, can have serious environmental and public health consequences. The goal of this study is to create chitosan-zinc oxide nano-adsorbent coated sand (CZOCS) for getting rid of milk processing industry wastewater (MPIW) in a safe way. The developed adsorbent was characterised, and the presence of a zinc coating on the sand surface was confirmed. The goal of this study was to reduce organic contaminants in MPIW. There has been no evidence of CZOCS being used for industrial wastewater treatment to date. The effectiveness of the adsorbent and the performance of the column were examined using column adsorption experiments. The influence of filtration time and height of the bed on breakthrough curves was also investigated. Different kinds of kinetic models have been used to forecast breakthrough curves employing experimental data. Statistical and error function parameters were used to choose the best model. Among these models, the Thomas model was shown to be the best fit. Breakthrough and exhaustion times were shown to be higher as the bed height increased. The CZOCS has high reusability and could be used for up to six cycles of organic pollutant adsorption. Aside from that, novel CZOCS was used to clean real MPIW, making it one of the most promising adsorbents.