Synthesis of Acid Leached Diatomaceous Earth/ Amine-Functionalized Activated Carbon Composite and its Potential Application in Oily Wastewater Treatment
type: CreativeWork
description: Due to the expanding worldwide oil exploration, a significant amount of oily wastewater is being produced. Oily wastewater lowers the diversity of aquatic life and plants by changing the structure of aquatic communities and food chains, among other ecological disturbances. Therefore, the overall aim of this project is to synthesize acid-leached diatomaceous earth (DE) and amine-functionalized activated carbon composite adsorbent for the treatment of oily wastewater. Acid leached diatomaceous earth was synthesized by leaching the raw diatomaceous step-wisely in a 120 mL volume of 2.2 M Nitric acid (HNO3) for three hours on a hotplate set to 60°C at a speed of 300 rpm. Thereafter, the mixture was filtered and the residue was washed with 1.5 L of deionized water. The residue was oven-dried at 50°C for 12 hours. The acid leached DE was then ground with mortar and pestle and then kept in a zip lock bag for further use in oily wastewater treatment. Activated carbon was synthesized from raw macadamia nutshell using of Orthophosphoric acid (H3PO4). Response surface methodology was used to determine the optimum conditions for synthesizing activated where 3 parameters (activation time, impregnation ratio, and activation temperature) were varied. Furthermore, 13 runs were completed at diverse conditions from the response surface methodology. To modify the synthesized activated carbon, hydroxylamine hydrochloride was used as a chemical agent to enhance the adsorption efficiency on the surface of the activated carbon and the amine-functionalized activated carbon was used in the removal of oil from oily wastewater. Lastly, a composite was prepared using both the synthesized acid leached diatomaceous earth and amine functionalized activated carbon and further evaluate its adsorption capacity and oil removal efficiency. All the synthesized adsorbents were applied in oily wastewater treatment and response surface methodology was used to optimize the variable parameters (adsorbent do…
abstract: Due to the expanding worldwide oil exploration, a significant amount of oily wastewater is being produced. Oily wastewater lowers the diversity of aquatic life and plants by changing the structure of aquatic communities and food chains, among other ecological disturbances. Therefore, the overall aim of this project is to synthesize acid-leached diatomaceous earth (DE) and amine-functionalized activated carbon composite adsorbent for the treatment of oily wastewater. Acid leached diatomaceous earth was synthesized by leaching the raw diatomaceous step-wisely in a 120 mL volume of 2.2 M Nitric acid (HNO3) for three hours on a hotplate set to 60°C at a speed of 300 rpm. Thereafter, the mixture was filtered and the residue was washed with 1.5 L of deionized water. The residue was oven-dried at 50°C for 12 hours. The acid leached DE was then ground with mortar and pestle and then kept in a zip lock bag for further use in oily wastewater treatment. Activated carbon was synthesized from raw macadamia nutshell using of Orthophosphoric acid (H3PO4). Response surface methodology was used to determine the optimum conditions for synthesizing activated where 3 parameters (activation time, impregnation ratio, and activation temperature) were varied. Furthermore, 13 runs were completed at diverse conditions from the response surface methodology. To modify the synthesized activated carbon, hydroxylamine hydrochloride was used as a chemical agent to enhance the adsorption efficiency on the surface of the activated carbon and the amine-functionalized activated carbon was used in the removal of oil from oily wastewater. Lastly, a composite was prepared using both the synthesized acid leached diatomaceous earth and amine functionalized activated carbon and further evaluate its adsorption capacity and oil removal efficiency. All the synthesized adsorbents were applied in oily wastewater treatment and response surface methodology was used to optimize the variable parameters (adsorbent do…
author: Mabidi, Thinawanga Jenifer
language: en
keywords: Activated Carbon, Acid leached diatomaceous earth, Composite, Functionalization, Macadamia Nutshells, Oily Wastewater treatment
date published: 2024-05-17
date modified: 2026-07-27T21:57:45Z
provider: University of Venda
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Venda