International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy

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Conversion of Corn Cobs Waste into Activated Carbons for Adsorption of Heavy Metals from Minerals Processing Wastewater

Received: 07 June 2016    Accepted: 15 June 2016    Published: 29 June 2016
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Abstract

This study investigated adsorption of Lead (Pb2+), Copper (Cu2+) and Cadmium (Cd2+) from minerals processing wastewater using activated carbons prepared from waste corn cobs. The activated carbons were prepared by carbonisation of the waste at 900°C to obtain carbonised corn cobs. Samples of the carbonised material were activated at 900°C for various durations using steam as an activating agent. The derived activated carbons were contacted with the wastewater containing heavy metals to assess their heavy metal removal abilities. From the results, up to 99.9%, 99.8 and 99.7% adsorption were attained for Pb2+, Cu2+ and Cd2+ respectively. This reduced the concentrations of Pb2+, Cu2+ and Cd2+ from 1.56 mg/L, 1.87 mg/L and 0.69 mg/L, respectively, to <0.002 mg/L for each metal ion. The results demonstrate that the derived activated carbons have the capacity to significantly reduce heavy metal concentrations to levels below the World Health Organisation (WHO) standards for safe drinking water.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijepp.20160404.11
Published in International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy (Volume 4, Issue 4, July 2016)
Page(s) 98-103
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Corn Cob, Activated Carbon, Heavy Metal, Wastewater and Adsorption

References
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Author Information
  • Minerals Engineering Department, University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, Ghana

  • Environmental and Safety Engineering Department, University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, Ghana

  • Environmental and Safety Engineering Department, University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, Ghana

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  • APA Style

    William Buah, Jennifer MacCarthy, Samuel Ndur. (2016). Conversion of Corn Cobs Waste into Activated Carbons for Adsorption of Heavy Metals from Minerals Processing Wastewater. International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy, 4(4), 98-103. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20160404.11

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    ACS Style

    William Buah; Jennifer MacCarthy; Samuel Ndur. Conversion of Corn Cobs Waste into Activated Carbons for Adsorption of Heavy Metals from Minerals Processing Wastewater. Int. J. Environ. Prot. Policy 2016, 4(4), 98-103. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepp.20160404.11

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    AMA Style

    William Buah, Jennifer MacCarthy, Samuel Ndur. Conversion of Corn Cobs Waste into Activated Carbons for Adsorption of Heavy Metals from Minerals Processing Wastewater. Int J Environ Prot Policy. 2016;4(4):98-103. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepp.20160404.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijepp.20160404.11,
      author = {William Buah and Jennifer MacCarthy and Samuel Ndur},
      title = {Conversion of Corn Cobs Waste into Activated Carbons for Adsorption of Heavy Metals from Minerals Processing Wastewater},
      journal = {International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy},
      volume = {4},
      number = {4},
      pages = {98-103},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijepp.20160404.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20160404.11},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijepp.20160404.11},
      abstract = {This study investigated adsorption of Lead (Pb2+), Copper (Cu2+) and Cadmium (Cd2+) from minerals processing wastewater using activated carbons prepared from waste corn cobs. The activated carbons were prepared by carbonisation of the waste at 900°C to obtain carbonised corn cobs. Samples of the carbonised material were activated at 900°C for various durations using steam as an activating agent. The derived activated carbons were contacted with the wastewater containing heavy metals to assess their heavy metal removal abilities. From the results, up to 99.9%, 99.8 and 99.7% adsorption were attained for Pb2+, Cu2+ and Cd2+ respectively. This reduced the concentrations of Pb2+, Cu2+ and Cd2+ from 1.56 mg/L, 1.87 mg/L and 0.69 mg/L, respectively, to <0.002 mg/L for each metal ion. The results demonstrate that the derived activated carbons have the capacity to significantly reduce heavy metal concentrations to levels below the World Health Organisation (WHO) standards for safe drinking water.},
     year = {2016}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Conversion of Corn Cobs Waste into Activated Carbons for Adsorption of Heavy Metals from Minerals Processing Wastewater
    AU  - William Buah
    AU  - Jennifer MacCarthy
    AU  - Samuel Ndur
    Y1  - 2016/06/29
    PY  - 2016
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20160404.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijepp.20160404.11
    T2  - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy
    JF  - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy
    JO  - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy
    SP  - 98
    EP  - 103
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-7536
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20160404.11
    AB  - This study investigated adsorption of Lead (Pb2+), Copper (Cu2+) and Cadmium (Cd2+) from minerals processing wastewater using activated carbons prepared from waste corn cobs. The activated carbons were prepared by carbonisation of the waste at 900°C to obtain carbonised corn cobs. Samples of the carbonised material were activated at 900°C for various durations using steam as an activating agent. The derived activated carbons were contacted with the wastewater containing heavy metals to assess their heavy metal removal abilities. From the results, up to 99.9%, 99.8 and 99.7% adsorption were attained for Pb2+, Cu2+ and Cd2+ respectively. This reduced the concentrations of Pb2+, Cu2+ and Cd2+ from 1.56 mg/L, 1.87 mg/L and 0.69 mg/L, respectively, to <0.002 mg/L for each metal ion. The results demonstrate that the derived activated carbons have the capacity to significantly reduce heavy metal concentrations to levels below the World Health Organisation (WHO) standards for safe drinking water.
    VL  - 4
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

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