Eggshell Utilisation as an Adsorbent for Treatability of Heavy Metals in Paint Wastewater

Abstract : The consumption of eggs to human being and food industry is important as one of the good protein sources in life. Thus abundant of eggshells is produced as daily waste. Objective : This study utilized eggshell as an adsorbent for diminution of heavy metal ions (manganese, zinc and iron) in paint wastewater. Methods : The effects of adsorbent dosage (5 g/l -20 g/l) was studied in batch experiment. The Mn, Fe and Zn concentrations were analyzed in replication using standard method for water and wastewater. Results and Discussion : The adsorbent was able to have more than 50% removal efficiency at 5 g dosage for all the heavy metal. The optimum removal efficiency for the three heavy metal (manganese, iron and zinc) tested occurred at 15 g dosage of the adsorbent (71.2, 96.8 and 85.1%). Conclusions : The study revealed that heavy metals in wastewater from paint industries could be effectively treated with adsorbent produced from eggshell