Abstract:
Water is a critical resource essential for all life on Earth. With increasing
industrialisation and urbanisation, consumable water sources are under threat,
particularly from contamination by healy netals (HMs) like Cd, Cu, and Ba, which
pose significant health risks even at low concentrations. While several methods exist to
remove HMs from water, many are cost-intensive. Concurtently, organic waste
management in urban areas is a growing concern. Biosorption and utilising organic
waste materials, offers a potential solution to both problems. This study aims to evaluate
the effectiveness of activated and carbonised Rice Husk (RH) and Coconut Coir (CC)
in removing Cd, Cu, and Ba from water. Activated and carbonised forms of RH and CC
were prepared, and 100 ppm initial concentrations of Cd, Cu, and Ba solutions were
tested at pH 7.0. A column test setup was used, with biosorbents compacted to a height
of 12 cm. The removal efficiency of the HMs was analysed, and a simple statistical
investigation was conducted to determine the skewness of the data. The study found
that untreated RH performed best for Ba removal (38.03%), while CC was most
effective for Cd (57.60%) and Cu (49.77%). Activation was more efficient than
carbonisation, with both biosorbents removing approximately 70Yo of Cuandover 640/o
of Cd after activation. In contrast, the removal efficiency for Ba increased by only 5-
IyYo after the enhancement processes. The activation process is more effective than
carbonisation for the removal of Cu, Cd, and Ba, with Cu and Cd showing the highest
removal efficiencies through performance-enhanced RH and CC'
