Use of charcoal from gasification residues in adsorption pilot plant for the practical application of circular economy in industrial wastewater treatment

Abstract

In the present work, the charcoal obtained after the gasification of wood residues was tested in a pilot adsorption unit to evaluate the feasibility of treating real textile wastewater on a semi-industrial scale. The aims were to evaluate the global performance of the adsorption column in the pilot system using a methylene blue (MB) solution, and then a real sample of textile wastewater. Two charcoal samples, which were a by-product of the gasification process, were obtained, characterized, and tested with a MB dye solution. The experimental adsorption capacity of the fixed-bed was near 34 mg.g⁻¹ in both cases, and the overall removal efficiency of the column was >91%. Experimental data were fitted according to the Thomas and Adams-Bohart models. The pilot plant proved to be effective for improving the treatment of real textile wastewater, regarding the removal of color and part of organic matter, verified by the evolution of chemical oxygen demand over time. The cost to operate the pilot plant was calculated, and the contribution to the circular economy was considered. The pilot unit was promising for improving the wastewater treatment process, adding value, and giving a new purpose to a waste that normally would be disposed in the environment.

Keywords:

• Charcoal
• gasifier
• textile wastewater
• circular economy
• adsorption pilot plant

Acknowledgments

To the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES, Brazil) for a scholarship awarded to the first author. To Prof. Dr. Emerson Freitas Jaguaribe for support in obtaining the material used in this study. The English text of this paper has been revised by Sidney Pratt, Canadian, MAT (The Johns Hopkins University), RSAdip - TESL (Cambridge University).

Disclosure statement

The authors declare they have no conflicts of interest to disclosure.

Funding

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Grant/Award Numbers: 311133/2015-0, 312128/2018-5; Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Grant/Award Number: 88881-362085/2019; Fundação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco (FACEPE), Grant/Award Number: APQ-1086-3.06/15.

Additional information

Funding

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Grant/Award Numbers: 311133/2015–0, 312128/2018–5; Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Grant/Award Number: 88881–362085/2019; Fundação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco (FACEPE), Grant/Award Number: APQ-1086–3.06/15.