Treatment of industrial effluents by adsorption: kinetic and thermodynamic strategies to reduce adsorbent consumption

• Grant number: 21/08450-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2021
• End date: February 28, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Sanitary Engineering - Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment
• Principal Investigator: Luis Augusto Martins Ruotolo
• Grantee: Rogério Felito da Silva
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 22/01037-4 - Development and characterization of a new activated carbon from crude glycerol for the adsorption of phenolic compounds, BE.EP.IC

Abstract

The presence of organic and inorganic compounds in water and industrial effluents has stimulated the search for technological alternatives for their treatment and decontamination, to mitigate their impact on the environment, while maintaining their economic attractiveness. Among organic pollutants, phenolic compounds are substances that pose a risk to human health and the environment. To treat effluents containing these substances, the batch adsorption process with the use of activated carbon as adsorbent is widely used in the industrial sector as it is a process of easy operation, maintenance, and application on a large scale. A company from Jundiaí-SP, which specialized in the treatment of industrial effluents, is looking for technological solutions to reduce the amount of activated carbon used in the adsorption stage of phenolic compounds, with a focus on minimizing costs and environmental impacts. Thus, this project aims at innovation and technology transfer to the effluent treatment sector by batch adsorption through the development of strategies that seek to minimize the consumption of adsorbent and the cost of the process. Therefore, the fundamental phenomena of adsorption processes will be used in kinetic and thermodynamic studies to obtain and analyze kinetic and isotherm curves and their application in the analysis of adsorption in one and two stages. The proposition of new adsorbents with greater capacity and affinity for phenolic compounds will also be investigated as a potential strategy for reducing the volume and cost of the adsorbent. As a final result, it is expected to contribute to companies operating in the sector, by providing new strategies to obtain a low-cost process with a lower environmental impact. (AU)