Fabrication, Characterization and Removal of Methyl Orange, Chromium (Cr) and Lead (Pb) in Aqueous Solutions by Low-Cost Clay/Macadamia Nutshell Powder Ceramic Filters

Producing drinking water from polluted water is expensive; thus, the fabrication of environmentally-friendly and cost-effective materials to treat polluted water is vital. A strategy involving the exploitation of waste resources to mitigate their impact on the environment has attracted special attention. This strategy is achievable by, among other things, developing materials including ceramic filters. In this study, natural clay, and macadamia nutshell powder were used to fabricate ceramic filters to remove methyl orange (MO), chromium (Cr), and lead (Pb) from aqueous solutions. The physicochemical characteristics of the fabricated filters were carried out and their ability to remove the pollutants was investigated. The filter with 20 wt% macadamia nutshell powder (M2) removed 92 %, 62 %, and 29 % of MO, Pb (II), and Cr (III), respectively. This was attributable to the high porosity of the filter as demonstrated by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis. Furthermore, there was an increase on the removal of Cr (29.71 % to 84.5 %) in the presence of other competing co-metals, however, a drop in Pb removed was observed (62.99 % to 38.67 %). Turbidity removal of up to 97.2 % was achieved using the M2 filter. The reported filter fabrication approach is facile, easy to replicate without special training, and environmentally friendly.

Automated summary

Producing drinking water from polluted water is expensive, so it is important to develop environmentally-friendly and cost-effective materials for treating polluted water. One strategy is to use waste resources, such as ceramic filters. In this study, ceramic filters made from natural clay and macadamia nutshell powder were used to remove pollutants from aqueous solutions, and the filters showed high efficiency in removing methyl orange, chromium, and lead.