Production of low-price carbon for removal of aluminium ions in potable water

Abstract

Drinking-water plants often use aluminium (Al) salts as coagulant agents in the water-treatment process, which cause increasing aluminum residue levels in water. Aluminum accumulation in the human body has been related to neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, senile dementia and breast cancer. This work utilises the available industrial waste as a cheap source of carbon (C) that can be used in aluminium ion elimination from water supplies. The employed sugarcane bagasse activated carbon (SCB-AC) was derived from the waste of a Qus sugar factory in Qena City, Egypt. The activity of SCB-AC was compared with that of commercial activated carbon (Com-AC), and their physico-chemical properties were characterised by various techniques (energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy). The findings demonstrate that SCB-AC has high performance for aluminium (III) (Al3+) removal like Com-AC, which reached 80% at a high initial concentration (10 mg/l). The thermodynamic constants revealed that the adsorption process has an exothermic nature. Briefly, SCB-AC is an inexpensive eco-friendly carbon with an excellent adsorptive ability like that of Com-AC for elimination of aluminium (III) in drinking water. The cost of manufacturing SBC-AC would be about US$40/t.