Activated carbon from an agricultural by-product, for the treatment of dyeing industry wastewater

Dyeing industry wastewater was employed for treatment by activated carbon prepared from coconut tree sawdust, at different agitation times, carbon dose and pH. The physico-chemical characteristics of this activated carbon were determined. The adsorption equilibrium for colour removal was reached within 60 min. In general, pH did not have any significant effect on colour removal. Removal of colour, chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD), total solids and total hardness increased with increase in carbon dose. The use of carbon would be economical, since sawdust is a waste product and available in large quantities, especially in India. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.