REMOVAL OF IRON FROM GROUND WATER USING EMBLICA OFFICINALIS BASED WOOD CHARCOAL

摘要

The presence of iron was observed in few ground water samples analysed from the tube wells of Wayanad district. It is observed that theses tubewells are more than 400 feet in depth. The presence of iron in ground water of tubewells that are 400 feet or above in depth are highly possible. The removal of iron from groundwater by a low cost natural adsorbent was investigated in the present study. The wood charcoal prepared from the hard wood of Emblica officinalis was investigated for the effective removal of iron from water samples. At first the study was conducted with synthetic solution and the efficiency of the adsorbent was confirmed and then it was directly used for the removal of iron from the ground water samples. The influence of pH, contact time, adsorbent dosage and initial concentration on adsorption efficiency was analysed. The adsorption efficiency was found to be influenced by pH, adsorbent dosage, contact time and initial concentration of the metal ion. The most favourable pH was foundto be 4 and the removal of the metal gave the best result with a minimum contact time of 60 minutes. The optimum adsorbent dosage was found to be 800-900 mg. The initial concentration of the solution also was found to influence the % removal of iron from the water samples. The equilibrium adsorption capacity of the adsorbents used for iron was measured and extrapolated using Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms. The IR spectrum of the adsorbent was recorded to analysis the presence of functional groups influencing the metal ion adsorption on the plant based adsorbent.