J T Nwabanne and P K Igbokwe
Keywords: Fixed bed column, palmyra palm nut, breakthrough curve, heavy metals, activated carbon.
Abstract: Breakthrough curve studies for the removal of heavy metals using activated carbon derived from palmyra palm nut (PPN) was carried out in a fixed bed column. The effects of important parameters such as inlet ion concentration, flow rate and bed height on the breakthrough curve were studied. Breakthrough time increased with increase in bed height, inlet ion concentration and flow rates. Increasing the flow rate gave rise to a shorter time for saturation. Breakthrough was achieved in lesser time for Cu2+ adsorption than Pb2+ adsorption. As flow rate increased from 5 to 10ml/min breakthrough was achieved between 1200 to 1500 min for Pb2+ adsorption while breakthrough was reached between 220 and 350 min for adsorption of Cu2+. The experimental breakthrough data correlated well with the breakthrough profile calculated by Yoon and Nelson method for activated carbon. Palmyra palm nut was found to be an efficient adsorbent for the removal of lead (11) and Copper (11) in a continuous mode using fixed bed column.
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