Nutrient removal from wastewater on the basis of integrated technologies based on adsorption

Nutrient discharged into surface waters can  disturb the balance of organisms present in water and affect water quality, mainly through the depletion of the dissolved oxygen level as the  algae decay. Discharge of wastewater containing excess nutrients species is a serious environmental problem worldwide, as these nutrients cause eutrophication of surface water bodies. This research problem will be selected based on the accumulation of nutrient from wastes water in Ethiopian at different industry which, causes environmental pollution due to release wastes  water. Hence, eutrophication of aquatic environment frequently causes fish kills, phytoplankton blooms, and deteriorates water quality. The aim  of this PhD is therefore to develop bio-based absorbents to recover nutrients from wastewater with reference to the need of developing cost-effective materials. As part of this, the PhD study will evaluate different materials and technologies to develop the most efficient bio-based  adsorption materials. Biochar will be prepared from locally available bio-waste and modified using combinations of physical and chemical techniques (nanoparticles impregnation). Both batch equilibrium and column studies will be carried out to test the adsorption capacity of the engineered biochar across different wastewater environments (pH and ionic strength). Pot experiment will be conducted using different soil pH (< 4.5,~7.0, > 8.5). In this study four perishable biomass wastes like forestry products, agricultural residues, animal  wastes, and municipal wastes will be carbonized and characterized for differential application. The biomass will be subjected to carbonization at different temperatures from 300°C - 1000 °C for a residential time of 40 min at a heating rate of 10–12 °C min−1. Biomass and biochar samples will be characterized for proximate (MC, VM,  FC, Ash), ultimate (CHNS-O), pH, EC and etc. The biochar will be also analyzed through  SEM, and FTIR for identification of pore  size and functional groups. Freely dissolved nanoparticles and DOC-bounded nanoparticles will be determined using the solid-phase extraction method. XRD, spectroscopic and microscopic techniques will be employed to unfold nanoparticles stability and the DOC-nanoparticles adsorption mechanisms. Water samples will be analyzed for physico-chemical parameters including DO, colour, turbidity, TSS, Fe, PO43-, alkalinity, Mg, CaCO3, temperature, pH, NH4+ , EC, Cl and NO3 -and soil sample will be analyzed for physico- chemical  parameters. Finally, data will be subjected to analysis of variance using the general linear model procedure (PROC GLM) of SAS statistical package  version 9.3 by three-way ANOVA, considering  the biochar, pyrolysis temperature and feedstock as the main factors