Speaker
Description
Untreated abattoir effluent presents significant environmental and public health risks due to its high load of color-causing and turbidity-inducing compounds. This study evaluated the performance of P-32 powdered activated carbon (PAC), a locally engineered bio-based adsorbent, for color and turbidity removal from Kumasi Abattoir Ghana (KAG) effluent, hypothesizing that turbidity will yield higher removal efficiency but lower adsorption capacity compared to color. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted with incremental P-32 PAC doses (5–25 g/L), and adsorption behavior analyzed using Langmuir, Freundlich, and Elovich isotherm models. Optimal dose prediction compared cubic polynomial model (CPM), exponential decay model (EDM) and modified EDM (mEDM). Bootstrapped confidence interval measured uncertainty. Sensitivity analysis was based on adsorbate-adsorbent-pH-dose matrix. Baseline characterization revealed elevated color (11,125 Pt-Co) and turbidity (235 NTU) levels exceeding Ghana Environmental Protection Authority (GEPA) discharge standards by over 5,462% and 213%, respectively. Turbidity removal reached 93.68% at 25 g/L, achieving GEPA compliance, whereas color removal peaked at 68.32%, remaining above the regulatory threshold. Statistical analysis confirmed significantly higher turbidity removal efficiency compared to color (p < 0.01). Nonlinear Freundlich model best described the adsorption process, with greater adsorption capacity (intensity) for color (turbidity), confirming the hypothesis. The three models predicted optimal compliance doses of ~12 g/L for turbidity and 33 - 95 g/L (CPM→ mEDM) for color with higher bootstrapped uncertainty extrapolations. Sensitivity analysis revealed color (turbidity) removal favored higher (lower) pH. P-32 PAC effectively remediates abattoir effluent, achieving turbidity compliance but requiring higher doses for color.