Adsorption properties of red mud and bagasse fly ash
Student name: Ms Anita Punia
Guide: Dr Arun Kansal
Year of completion: 2010
Host Organisation: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Dr Vidya S. Batra
Abstract: Industrial wastes like red mud, bagasse fly ash are generated in large quantities and require lot of landfill area for disposal. The objective of this study was to investigate the removal of phenol from water by using waste based adsorbents such as as-received red mud, modified red mud (activated, neutralized and calcined red mud) and bagasse fly ash at different phenol concentrations, contact time, adsorbent doses and pH. Commercial activated carbon was also used for comparison.
Two samples of red mud (RM8 and RM7) were used for phenol removal from water. RM8 was used in the as-received form and after modification while RM7 was used only in the as- received form. None of the RM8 samples could adsorb phenol while RM7 showed marginal removal of phenol.
The bagasse fly ash was used in the as- received form and modified by sieving or water floatation to obtain carbon rich fraction comprising the unburnt carbon. The effect of pH, contact time, adsorbent dose and phenol concentration on adsorption of phenol by unburnt carbon fraction of bagasse fly ash were studied. As the adsorbent dose and contact time increases the phenol removal increases and with increase in phenol concentration the phenol removal decreases.
