Document Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
10-2024
School/College
College of Science, Engineering, and Technology (COSET)
Degree Name
Ph.D. in Environmental Toxicology
Committee Chairperson
Dr. Bobby Wilson
Committee Member 1
Dr. Sonya Good
Committee Member 2
Dr. Bruce Prince
Committee Member 3
Dr. Audrey Player
Abstract
Life on Earth depends on water, which also has a direct impact on climate, health, and economic growth. Water poverty, pollution, and scarcity are some of the environmental issues confronting our society today. Water pollution and water poverty are both measurable parameters. Water quality is measured by comparing its physical, chemical, and biological properties to a predefined standard. This study examines remediation techniques for removing nano-pollutants from human-generated wastewater. In order to satisfy the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) standard, this technological approach utilizes gravity and a zero-carbon footprint for wastewater purification.
The research is designed with various pore sizes of biomass, ceramic, sand, gravel, polypropylene fiber, activated and non-activated carbon membrane units. The units perform various tasks, such as particle filtration, microfiltration, nanofiltration, and ultrafiltration. Each component removes desired specific nano-pollutants.
The finished water analysis was performed using ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) spectrophotometer for organic dyes, atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrophotometer (ICPMS) for metals. The absence of pathogens was determined by microbiological investigation of the total colony count, E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and enteric viruses. Physical property evaluations of turbidity, pH, salinity, and total dissolved solids (TDS) showed that every parameter under consideration was below the EPA standard.
Chemical assessment of organic contaminants with UV-VIS indicated that the filtering system removed the organic dyes. AAS results showed that the filtering membrane removed, 98.09% silver (Ag) 94.20% arsenic (As), 97.86% cadmium (Cd), 99.12% calcium (Ca), 99.56% chromium (Cr), 99.51% cobalt (Co), 79.1% copper (Cu), 99.62% Iron (Fe), 98.78% Lead (Pb), 97.07% magnesium (Mg), 94.47% manganese (Mn), 95.83% Mercury (Hg), 97.48% selenium (Se) and 97.62% Zinc (Zn).
Finally, the ICPMS findings show that the granular activated carbon system (GAC) eliminated 99.96% Al, 99.99% As, 99.81% Br, 97.86% Cd, 99.56% Cr, 99.99% Co, 99.99% Fe, 99.99% Pb, 69.95% Mg, 99.97% Mn, 99.99% Ni, 99.99% Se, and 99.96% Zn. The results were found to be below the EPA and World Health Organization (WHO) regulatory limits. This study describes the successful removal of pathogens, selected physical and chemical nano-pollutants from wastewater.
Copyright
Copyright © for this work is retained by the author. Any documents and information presented are protected by copyright under US Copyright laws and are the property of the author. All Rights Reserved. For permission to use this content please contact the author or the Graduate School at Texas Southern University ([email protected]).
Recommended Citation
Nwagu, Lauretta Ngozi Ndu, "Remediation Technology and Study To Remove Nano-Pollutants From Wastewater" (2024). Dissertations (2016-Present). 100.
https://digitalscholarship.tsu.edu/dissertations/100