Industrial Wastewater Treatment by Using Graphite Intercalation Compounds as an Adsorbent

Effluent, containing toxic and hazardous wastes, discharged by industries has been an eye-catching issue for researchers over the past few years. Mainly, this hazardous waste incorporates a large variety of dyes, chemicals, and traces of heavy metals. This work focuses on the treatment of industrial wastewater using the adsorption technique for Graphite Intercalation Compound (GIC) as an adsorbent. NyexTM 1000, a commercial adsorbent with a surface area of 1.0 m2/g, offering a Bulk density of 0.88 g/cm3 and Pore diameter of 133 Å respectively, was utilized to remediate an industrial contaminant. A GIC adsorbent was found to reduce COD by about 90% i.e., 150 mg/L to 10 mg/L. The outcome of this research has revealed that Graphite intercalation compound (GIC) as an adsorbent is suitable for the reduction of COD from industrial effluent. Kinetic studies reveal adsorbent surface heterogeneity is increased and multilayer adsorption was observed. 6 cyclic adsorption studies were performed by regenerating the adsorbent 5 times consecutively. The GIC adsorbent was regenerated via an electrochemical reactor and has shown a significant regeneration efficiency of more than 99%. The electrochemical reactor was integrated with a solar energy system to make the process cost-effective.