Optimizing fluoride uptake influencing parameters of paper industry waste derived activated carbon

The current investigation emphasizes on the fluoride adsorption by chemically activated industrial paper waste (PWA) from aqueous medium. Sorption process was modelled and optimized using the techniques viz. response surface methodology (RSM), artificial neural network (ANN), and genetic algorithm (GA). Parametric effects of pH, adsorbate concentration, duration of contact, temperature, and PWA dose on percentage removal were assessed. Structural morphologies of PWA were analysed using BET, SEM, EDX and FTIR. Maximum removal of more than 99% was observed at adsorbate concentration of 12 mg/L, pH 5, temperature 25 degrees C and PWA dose 0.3 g/L and duration of contact of 18 h. The adsorption process conformed Langmuir isotherm model, and the process is thermodynamically feasible and spontaneous in nature as obtained from thermodynamics study. The PWA is reusable and capable of adsorbing 96.7% of total fluoride even after four cycles of use. Therefore, PWA might be a promising adsorbent for fluoride decontamination of water and can be used in sorption-based water treatment plant under optimised parametric condition to substantiate its large-scale applicability.

Automated summary

The research found that PWA has a high efficiency and reusability in fluoride adsorption, making it suitable for water treatment with great potential for large-scale application.