Treatment of industrial effluents using fortified soil-clay Original Research Article

The ability of some tropical soil-clays in industrial wastewater treatment was investigated in this study. The soil-clays were characterized by studying the mineralogical and geochemical characteristics using X-ray diffractometer and atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS), respectively. Performance efficiency studies were conducted to determine the best combination ratio of soil-clay/pebbles. Soil-clay fortified with pebbles in the ratio 3:1 gave the optimum water purification while combination ratio 1:3 gave the least. The flow rate studies showed that the wastewater had a longer residence time in non-fortified soil-clay than in fortified soil-clay. The fortified soil-clays were used in the treatment of wastewater from different sources, viz. brewery, textile and natural rubber processing factories. Two modes of treatment methods were adopted: single and double column treatment (SCT and DCT). The two modes performed satisfactorily but effluents from DCT had better quality. The effects of repeated usage on the performance efficiency of the fortified column were studied and the results showed a decrease of pH, TS and DO and an increase of COD when monitored over time.