Journal of Fundamentals of Renewable Energy and Applications
Open Access
ISSN: 2090-4541
+44 1300 500008
ISSN: 2090-4541
+44 1300 500008
Upenyu Guyo
Midlands State University, Zimbabwe
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Fundam Renewable Energy Appl
Various wastewater treatment methods have been reported and many of them pose serious technological and technical problems. Most of the methods have various demerits such as incomplete pollutant removal, high capital investments, operation costs, high energy consumption and low selectivity. Adsorption is a recent technology that is gaining popularity as it is perceived to be relatively rapid, reversible, economical and environmentally friendly. The technology utilizes naturally occurring waste materials (biomaterials and agricultural by-products) for the removal pollutants from wastewaters. This work explores the potential applicability of raw and modified biomaterials such as marula seed husk biomass, Moringa oleifera, Opuntia ficus indica and agricultural by-products such as Zea Mays and Vigna unguiculata biomass for the adsorption of selected heavy metals (Pb(II), Cd(II) and Ni(II)) and dyes (methylene blue and methyl red). The biomass materials were applied either as raw or as magnetite and biopolymer derivatives. The results revealed interesting transformations of the biomass materials as characterized by FTIR, XRD and SEM-EDS techniques. The effectiveness of the biomass materials as adsorbent materials was evaluated based on the maximum adsorption capacities following adsorption isotherm modeling. The results from the studies show that biomass materials may be used as a low-cost, eco-friendly and effective adsorbents to remediate environmental wastewaters.
Email: guyou@msu.ac.zw