Nitrate removal from agricultural effluent using sugarcane bagasse active nanosorbent

Abstract

The increase in population and the growth of agricultural activities, and consequently the increase in demand for safe water, has made the use of unconventional water to solve the problems of water scarcity very efficient. Here to investigate the removal of nitrate from agricultural drains, sugarcane bagasse biochar was used as an adsorbent. This study includes the effect of three parameters: heating time in the microwave, microwave power and weight ratio of KOH to biochar (KBC) to remove nitrate from contaminated wastewater. First, the optimal conditions for the preparation of sugarcane bagasse sorbent were investigated, which includes 0.2 g of sorbent in 150 ml of nitrate solution, biochar production time of 2 h at 600°C and pH equal to 7. According to the results, the microwave power of 400 W, activation time of 10 min and weight ratio (KBC) had the highest percentage of nitrate absorption (equal 75.3%).

KEYWORDS:

• Biochar
• adsorption
• nitrate
• wastewater
• sugarcane bagasse

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by the University of Shahrekord under Grant [141/3107]. The support of this organization is appreciated.

Notes on contributors

Parisa Mehrabinia

Parisa Mehrabinia is a MSc Student of Water Science Engineering , Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrekord University, Iran.

Elham Ghanbari-Adivi

Elham Ghanbari-Adivi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Water Science Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrekord University, Iran. Member of Nanotechnology Research Center, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran.

Rohollah Fattahi

Rohollah Fattahi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Water Science Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrekord University, Iran.

Heshmat Allah Samimi

Heshmatollah Samimi-Shalamzari is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Basic Science, Shahrekord University, Iran.

Jalil Kermanezhad

Jalil Kermanezhad is an Expert of Chaharmahal & Bakhtiari Water and Wastewater Company, Shahrekord, Iran.