Evaluation of wastewater treatment contaminated with formaldehyde by using activated carbon prepared from cypress leaf

Rising standards of effluent discharge to the environment has led many researches to look for more effective and at the same time, economical treatment methods. Utilization of Activated carbon, as an effective and economical method, could be a helpful solution in this regard. The purpose of this study is to investigate the preparation of activated carbon from cypress tree leaves and its abilities in treatment of formaldehyde contaminated wastewater. Besides investigating the adsorption ability of the adsorbent, the effects of various parameters such as pH, retention time, Formaldehyde concentration and temperature were also investigated. Test results obtained from this study demonstrate that the most efficient condition for formaldehyde removal by the adsorbent is on the temperature of 10 C, retention time of 5 minutes and pH equal to 7 which led to a 98% formaldehyde removal. According to the survey conducted in this study it can be concluded that the utilization of activated carbon, obtained from the cypress tree leaves, is an efficient and economical solution in the removal of toxic waste such as formaldehyde.