APPLICATIONS OF ACTIVATED CARBON IN WASTE WATER TREATMENT AS A LOW COST MEDIA

Environmental pollution caused by the anthropogenic activities is a global challenge. Pollution due to discharge of untreated wastewater, contributes to it considerably. High expenditures for the treatment technologies can be considered as one of the major reason for improper wastewater discharge. Activated carbon provides an excellent solution for this issue as it can be used as a low cost wastewater treatment adsorbent. This paper review, types of activated carbon, their applications and recovery methods in wastewater treatment. Activated carbon from conventional waste such as agricultural waste, woody waste and non conventional waste such as municipal waste can be used as a low cost media for waste water purifications. Physical and chemical processes are used to improve the adsorption property of the activated carbon. H3PO4, KOH and ZnCl2 are the most frequently used chemicals for the activation process. Granular activated carbon, powdered activated carbon, activated carbon fibers and carbon clothes are the major physical forms of the activated carbon. These physical forms are important to maximize the adsorption process according to the purpose of usage. Activated carbon is used to remove heavy metals, dyes, COD, BOD, organic contaminants and volatile organic compounds in the waste water. Various recovery methods are applied to regenerate activated carbons. Among them, chemical, thermal, and bio regeneration methods are examined. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats related to use of activated carbon and future research priority areas are also discussed