Bioadsorção como tratamento para remoção de metais pesados: estudo de caso em uma indústria de papel e celulose.

Abstract

The following thesis presents a study on adsorption and bioadsorption as techniques for the treatment of industrial effluents, with emphasis in the removal of heavy metals. The aim of this study is to promote the awareness of environmental and social responsibility, especially with regard to the reuse and utilization of water, in accordance with the parameters established by the regulatory agencies. The following work was performed with the through a literature review and a case study. The selected article for the case study presents the adsorption mechanisms and the definition of the Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms. The authors evaluate the pistachio soft shel as an option of biodsorption agent for the treatment of industrial wastewater from the pulp and paper industry. The best outcomes were observed using the Langmuir model, in which for Cu it was obtained an R² error of 0.9842 and an experimental 𝑞𝑒 (amount adsorbed) of 4.95 mg/g, while for Pb, the result was an R² of 0.9910 and an experimental 𝑞𝑒 of 24.00mg/g. In addition, the pistachio soft shell as a natural flocculant, lead to satisfactory results, reaching 98% Pb removal and 97% Cu removal, under optimal conditions. Thus, it was possible to observe that bioadsorption and flocculation are mechanisms with the potential to be used for industrial effluent treatment, with advantages linked to economic viability and being operationally and environmentally promising.