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Modification of Bael fruit shell and its application towards Natural organic matter removal with special reference to predictive modeling and control of THMs in drinking water supplies

2020; Elsevier BV; Volume: 18; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.eti.2020.100666

2352-1864

Jaydev Kumar Mahato, Sunil Kumar Gupta,

Adsorption and biosorption for pollutant removal

The study emphasized on evaluating the potential of acid-modified Bael fruit shell (AM-BFS) for Natural organic matter (NOM) removal following thermo-chemical treatment using ortho-phosphoric acid (H3PO4) and heating at 500 0C. Acid treated Bael fruit shell (BFS) resulted in an increase in both specific surface area (8 times) & external surface area (13 times) and resulted in 82% removal of NOM. FTIR analysis showed the presence of the O-H group, amide group (N-H), alkyl (C-H), and Nitrile group (C≡N) however no new bond formation occurred during the adsorption process resulting into intact structural stability of the adsorbent. The results of FTIR analysis were in line with Langmuir isotherm and indicated monolayer adsorption with a maximum adsorption capacity of 192 mg/g. Correlation matrix analysis revealed that pH, temperature, residual chlorine, TOC, DOC, and UV254 were the most influential parameters leading to high THM formation. A multi-linear regression (MLR) model was developed to determine the kinetics of the THMs formation. The higher value of the determination coefficient (R2-0.983), coupled with the Durbin-Watson value of 2.106, proves the statistical significance of the model and confirms its applicability with the least error of precision (-2.02%±3.813). Response surface methodology (RSM) also efficiently predicted and validated the experimental findings. Facile synthesis technique and easy availability of raw material make this adsorbent more promising and competitive than activated carbon and other natural adsorbents reported in the literature.