Sugar-cane bagasse evaluation as adsorbent for the treatment of inorganic residues from chemical laboratories

• Grant number: 21/13428-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2022
• End date: December 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Analytical Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Pedro Vitoriano de Oliveira
• Grantee: João Jou de Albuquerque Fujiwara
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The management of the chemical laboratorial residues is essential for water health, a matter of great international relevance addressed specifically in the sixth sustainable development objective (SDO) - clean water and sanitation, proposed by the United Nations. The chemical residues produced in the teaching laboratories from the IQUSP (~1000 L/year) represent a universe very similar to the ones produced in many analytical research, quality control laboratories and industries, which produces great quantities of aqueous residues containing organic and inorganic compounds. Therefore, the project aims to evaluate the potential of the sugar-cane bagasse as an adsorbent material for the treatment of aqueous inorganic residues, containing cations of the following elements: Na, K, Mg, Ca, Sr, Cr, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn, Ag, Hg, Pb, Sb and Al, looking for the removal of these ions from aqueous solutions from teaching laboratories of the IQUSP, complying to the current resolutions to the safe environmental discard. The bagasse will be grounded, washed with water, HCl and dried in the oven, and utilized in natura or modified with ligands as TAN and Pan. The conditions to the separation, such as pH and ligand concentration will be studied and optimized. The characterizations and conditions for the adsorption of the interest cations will be made in batch or in columns filled with the bagasse. The concentrations of the elements in solution, before and after the adsorption in the substrate, will be determined by ICP OES. (AU)