Removal Of Toxic Metals From Electroplating Industrial Waste Water Using Groundnut Shell And Coconut Shell

Abstract

Toxic heavy metal contamination of industrial wastewater is an important environmental problem. Many industries such as electroplating, pigments, metallurgical processes, and mining and leather industries release various concentrations of heavy metals. Metal ions such as cadmium, nickel, chromium, copper, lead, zinc, manganese and iron are commonly detected in both natural and industrial effluents. Heavy metal pollution has become one of the most serious environmental problems today. The collected steel effluents from Sastha electroplating industry located at Ambattur estate, Chennai. By using methods like chemical precipitation, chemical coagulation for removing metal ions from effluents. These processes may be effective or inexpensive, the heavy metal ions are present in high concentrations. Adsorption process is one of the efficient methods for the removal of heavy metals due to its simplicity, easiness in handling, availability of various adsorbents and more efficiently removes the heavy metals at lower concentration levels. This necessitates the use of groundnut shell for adsorption of heavy metals. At initial stage, both zinc and chrome water having high concentration of toxic metals after the treatments the concentration level is reduced and it is recharged into ground water.