Two environmental concerns currently face Georgia: coal fly ash (CFA) waste from coal power plants, and the effluent generated by pulp mills. Pulp mill effluent discolors surface waters into which it is discharged, and has been proven to negatively impact the dissolved oxygen and carbon necessary for aquatic life. The proposed solution is a cost-effective adsorption treatment using an inexpensive but abundantly available waste material: CFA. CFA possesses beneficial properties that allow it to effectively remove contaminants, and is available at significantly reduced cost. The primary research objective was to define treatment parameters that would result in the maximum removal of effluent color at the lowest CFA dosage and process cost. Experimentation consisted of batch adsorption studies and several test parameters were varied to determine their effect on removal. Kinetic and isotherm studies were also conducted using the optimal conditions, and the data was fitted to existing adsorption models. In addition, a column study was completed to observe CFA in a continuous flow setting. The research produced a cost-effective adsorption process resulting in 80% color removal, and required no effluent pH adjustment. Color removal by CFA was observed to occur primarily in the first hour, with the adsorption achieving equilibrium at 24 hours. Additionally, the Ho et al. kinetic model and the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models best described the observed adsorption phenomena. Overall, this research found CFA to be a promising low-cost adsorbent for the removal of color from pulp mill effluent.
","abstract_html":"<p>Two environmental concerns currently face Georgia: coal fly ash (CFA) waste from coal power plants, and the effluent generated by pulp mills. Pulp mill effluent discolors surface waters into which it is discharged, and has been proven to negatively impact the dissolved oxygen and carbon necessary for aquatic life. The proposed solution is a cost-effective adsorption treatment using an inexpensive but abundantly available waste material: CFA. CFA possesses beneficial properties that allow it to effectively remove contaminants, and is available at significantly reduced cost. The primary research objective was to define treatment parameters that would result in the maximum removal of effluent color at the lowest CFA dosage and process cost. Experimentation consisted of batch adsorption studies and several test parameters were varied to determine their effect on removal. Kinetic and isotherm studies were also conducted using the optimal conditions, and the data was fitted to existing adsorption models. In addition, a column study was completed to observe CFA in a continuous flow setting. The research produced a cost-effective adsorption process resulting in 80% color removal, and required no effluent pH adjustment. Color removal by CFA was observed to occur primarily in the first hour, with the adsorption achieving equilibrium at 24 hours. Additionally, the Ho et al. kinetic model and the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models best described the observed adsorption phenomena. Overall, this research found CFA to be a promising low-cost adsorbent for the removal of color from pulp mill effluent.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Willett, Christopher B"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Applied Engineering (M.S.A.E.)","degree_level":"Thesis (open access)","degree_discipline":"Department of Mechanical Engineering","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Mike Jackson","Pete Rogers"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:28:22Z","subjects":["ETD","Coal Fly Ash (CFA)","Pulp Mill Effluent","Color Removal","Adsorption","Civil Engineering","Construction Engineering and Management","Environmental Engineering","Industrial Engineering","Industrial Technology","Manufacturing","Other Civil and Environmental Engineering","Transportation Engineering"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/1320","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Mike Jackson","Pete Rogers"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Willett, Christopher B"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-07-05T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Department of Mechanical Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis (open access)"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Applied Engineering (M.S.A.E.)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["ETD","Coal Fly Ash (CFA)","Pulp Mill Effluent","Color Removal","Adsorption","Civil Engineering","Construction Engineering and Management","Environmental Engineering","Industrial Engineering","Industrial Technology","Manufacturing","Other Civil and Environmental Engineering","Transportation Engineering"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/1320"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Two environmental concerns currently face Georgia: coal fly ash (CFA) waste from coal power plants, and the effluent generated by pulp mills. Pulp mill effluent discolors surface waters into which it is discharged, and has been proven to negatively impact the dissolved oxygen and carbon necessary for aquatic life. The proposed solution is a cost-effective adsorption treatment using an inexpensive but abundantly available waste material: CFA. CFA possesses beneficial properties that allow it to effectively remove contaminants, and is available at significantly reduced cost. The primary research objective was to define treatment parameters that would result in the maximum removal of effluent color at the lowest CFA dosage and process cost. Experimentation consisted of batch adsorption studies and several test parameters were varied to determine their effect on removal. Kinetic and isotherm studies were also conducted using the optimal conditions, and the data was fitted to existing adsorption models. In addition, a column study was completed to observe CFA in a continuous flow setting. The research produced a cost-effective adsorption process resulting in 80% color removal, and required no effluent pH adjustment. Color removal by CFA was observed to occur primarily in the first hour, with the adsorption achieving equilibrium at 24 hours. Additionally, the Ho et al. kinetic model and the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models best described the observed adsorption phenomena. Overall, this research found CFA to be a promising low-cost adsorbent for the removal of color from pulp mill effluent.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Color Removal From Pulp Mill Effluent Using Coal Ash Produced From Georgia Power Coal Combustion Plants"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Mike Jackson","Pete Rogers"],"dc:creator":["Willett, Christopher B"],"dc:date.available":["2016-07-05T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Two environmental concerns currently face Georgia: coal fly ash (CFA) waste from coal power plants, and the effluent generated by pulp mills. Pulp mill effluent discolors surface waters into which it is discharged, and has been proven to negatively impact the dissolved oxygen and carbon necessary for aquatic life. The proposed solution is a cost-effective adsorption treatment using an inexpensive but abundantly available waste material: CFA. CFA possesses beneficial properties that allow it to effectively remove contaminants, and is available at significantly reduced cost. The primary research objective was to define treatment parameters that would result in the maximum removal of effluent color at the lowest CFA dosage and process cost. Experimentation consisted of batch adsorption studies and several test parameters were varied to determine their effect on removal. Kinetic and isotherm studies were also conducted using the optimal conditions, and the data was fitted to existing adsorption models. In addition, a column study was completed to observe CFA in a continuous flow setting. The research produced a cost-effective adsorption process resulting in 80% color removal, and required no effluent pH adjustment. Color removal by CFA was observed to occur primarily in the first hour, with the adsorption achieving equilibrium at 24 hours. Additionally, the Ho et al. kinetic model and the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models best described the observed adsorption phenomena. Overall, this research found CFA to be a promising low-cost adsorbent for the removal of color from pulp mill effluent.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/1320"],"dc:subject":["ETD","Coal Fly Ash (CFA)","Pulp Mill Effluent","Color Removal","Adsorption","Civil Engineering","Construction Engineering and Management","Environmental Engineering","Industrial Engineering","Industrial Technology","Manufacturing","Other Civil and Environmental Engineering","Transportation Engineering"],"dc:title":["Color Removal From Pulp Mill Effluent Using Coal Ash Produced From Georgia Power Coal Combustion Plants"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Department of Mechanical Engineering"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis (open access)"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Applied Engineering (M.S.A.E.)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:28:22Z"}