Fourth National Conference on “Advances and Innovations in Civil and Mechanical Engineering-AICME’14”

Vel Tech High Tech Dr.Rangarajan Dr.Sakunthala Engineering College, Chennai

23rd August 2014
Vol. 3, ISBN 978-81-924827-0-5

Isotherm Study on Electroplating

Industry Effluent using Albizia lebbeck
D. Sivakumar1, T.Siddharth2, V.Dhananjeyan3, S.Sathish Kumar4
1
Professor, 2,3,4Student, Department of Civil Engineering
Vel Tech High Tech Dr.Rangarajan Dr.Sakunthala Engineering College, Avadi, Chennai, INDIA
1
shri.sivakumar1974@gmail.com

Abstract—The total dissolved solids and sulphate
in an electroplating industry effluent was removed
using Albizia lebbeck pod powder, which was
studied by batch method. The effect of rapid
mixing contact time, slow mixing contact time and
adsorbent dosage for removing total dissolved
solids and sulphate in an electroplating industry
effluent have been evaluated. The results of the
present study indicated that the maximum
adsorption capacity of Albizia lebbeckpod powder
for removing total dissolved solids and sulphate in
an electroplating industry effluent was 86.4 and
88.8 %. The Langmuir isotherm model was fitted
to the experimental data of electroplating industry
effluent. Based on experimental and model
studies, Albizia lebbeckpod powder is effectively
used as adsorbent for removing TDS and sulphate
in an electroplating industry effluent.
Key Words: Electroplating Industry Effluent, Albizia
lebbeck Pod Powder, Process Parameters, Isotherm
Model.
I.INTRODUCTION
Electroplating units have potential to generate the
effluent consisting of heavy metals like chromium,
copper, zinc, cadmium etc. and various organic
compounds such as phenols, formaldehyde etc. The
toxicity of the effluent obviously depends on the
concentration of the respective metals as well as
duration and type of discharge. With the increasing
use of variety of heavy metals in electroplating
industry problem may arise from potential toxicity in
the environment to a great extent. With a view to
recycle and reuse the wastewater, adsorption process
was adopted as single stage treatment instead of the
existing physical, chemical and biological methods.
The greatest advantage of this method is that desired
materials are separated from a solution by a simple
and compact process, producing less secondary
waste. Other advantages are large active surface area
for a given mass of particles, and the ability
to process a solution that contains suspended solids.
Exploration of good low cost and non-conventional
adsorbent may contribute to the sustainability of the
environment and offer promising benefits for the
commercial purpose in future. The costs of the
activated carbon prepared from biomaterials are
negligible when compared to the cost of commercial
activated carbon. Some of the activated carbons used
to treat the industrial wastewater in the recent past
are, corncob, groundnut husk, rice husk, tea leaves
carbon, saw dust, eucalyptus bark, and agricultural
wastes. Further, in the laboratory and field studies,
seed of moriga oleifera (as a coagulant) was used for
treating water. This paper dealt with effect of initial
concentration of Albizia lebbeck pod powder for
removing total dissolved solids (TDS) and sulphate in
an electroplating industry effluent at different dosages
and different rapid mixing contact time. The
adsorption study is also extended to isotherm points
of view.
II.MATERIALS AND METHODS
The entire experimental work was planned in three
distinct phases which include preparation of
coagulant using Albizia lebbeck pod powder (Phase
I), collection of electroplating industry effluent
(Phase II) and experiments for determining the
suitability of Albizia lebbeck pod powder in removing
TDS and sulphate present in the electroplating
industry effluent (Phase III).
Phase I
Albizia lebbeck pod in dried form was collected from
the Vel Tech High Tech Dr.Rangarajan
Dr.Sakunthala Engineering College Campus. The pod
was pulverized and sieved through
0.60 µm sieve (Photo 1) and then powdered form of
Albizia lebbeck pod was kept in the refrigerator at a
temperature of 5 C for conducting experiments.
This method was used to avoid the decomposition of
powder, because the Albizia lebbeckpod powder is an
agro-based product.

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 Fourth National Conference on “Advances and Innovations in Civil and Mechanical Engineering-AICME’14”
Photo 1 Pulverized form of Albizia lebbeck Pod
Albizia lebbeck is native to deciduous and semi
deciduous forests in Asia from eastern Pakistan
through India and Sri Lanka to Burma. The tree has
been introduced as an ornamental and plantation tree
throughout the tropics and northern subtropics,
including the Greater and Lesser Antilles, Central
America, Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil. Albizia
lebbeck is a fast-growing, medium-sized deciduous
tree with a spreading umbrella-shaped crown of thin
foliage and smoothish, finely fissured, grayish-brown
bark. Depending on site conditions, annual height
growth ranges from 0.5 to 2.0 m. The species grows
well from sea level to 1500 m on sites receiving
between 500 and 2500 mm annual rainfall and
tolerates both light frosts and drought. While it grows
poorly on heavy clay soils, it tolerates saline, sodic,
and lateritic sites.
Phase II
Electroplating industry effluent from the Ambatur
Industrial Estate was collected with the help of air
tight bottles. The quality was analyzed using
standard procedure (APHA, 2005). The primary
focus of the present study is to reduce the TDS and
sulphate concentrations in an electroplating industry
effluent using Albizia lebbeck pod powder at various
parameters. The initial TDS and sulphate values in
the electroplating industry effluent are given in Table
1.
TABLE 1 PROPERTIES OF ELECTROPLATING INDUSTRY
EFFLUENT
Electroplating Industry
Properties
Effluent
TDS, mg/l 2758.0
Sulphate, mg/l 1435.0
Phase III
In the present study, the Phipps and Bird jar test
apparatus was used for evaluating and optimizing the
adsorption process. This method consists of batch
experiments involving rapid mixing at the rotational
speed of 100 rpm and sedimentation period of 60
min. Electroplating industry effluent was filled in
four glass beakers of 1 litre capacity and was kept in
the Phipps and Bird jar test apparatus for agitation. In
the present investigation, the experiments were
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Vel Tech High Tech Dr.Rangarajan Dr.Sakunthala Engineering College, Chennai
23rd August 2014
Vol. 3, ISBN 978-81-924827-0-5
performed at different adsorbent dosage of 20 g/l to
140 g/l with an increment of 20 g/l, different rapid
mixing contact time of 10 min. to 60 min. with an
increment of 10 min. and different concentration
dilution from 1 to 5 with an interval of 1).
The concentration of TDS and sulphate in an
electroplating industry effluent before and after
equilibrium was determined as per standard
procedure given by APHA (2005). The equilibrium
experimental data for TDS and sulphate is used to fit
the isotherm model. Using a mass balance, the
concentrations of TDS and sulphate at different time
adsorbed by Albizia lebbeck pod powder was
calculated as
(C  C t )V
qt  0 (1)
M
Where qt is the amount of TDS and sulphate adsorbed
by Albizia lebbeck pod powder at time t, C0 is the
initial concentration of TDS and sulphate, Ct is
aqueous phase concentration of TDS and sulphate at
time t, V is the volume of the aqueous phase, M is the
weight of Albizia lebbeck pod powder.
III.RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Effect of Albizia lebbeck pod powder Dosage
Fig.1 shows the effect of Albizia lebbeck pod powder
as adsorbent dose on TDS and sulphate reduction in
an electroplating industry effluent with a rapid
mixing contact time of 10 min. and 0 dilution ratios
(using initial concentration). From Fig.1, it may be
observed that up to 100 g/l of Albizia lebbeck pod
powder dosage, concentration of TDS and sulphate in
an electroplating industry effluent decrease, beyond
which they increase. In otherwords, the reduction of
TDS and sulphate in an electroplating industry
effluent increase, beyond which they decrease.
100.0 TDS Sulphate
Percentage Removal
80.0
60.0
40.0
20.0
0.0
0 50 100 150
Adsorbent Dosage, g/l
Fig.1 The effect of Albizia lebbeck pod powder as adsorbent dose on
TDS and sulphate reduction in an electroplating industry effluent
The percentage reduction in concentration of TDS for
aAlbizia lebbeck pod powder dosage of 20, 40, 60,
80, 100 and 120 g/l respectively were found to be
36.8 %, 52.3 %, 65.3 %, 72.2 %, 78.5 % and 70.2 %.
Similarly, the percentage reduction in concentration
of sulphate for the dose of 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120
g/l respectively were found to be 42.5 %, 55.3 %,
68.3 %, 74.6 %, 81.6 % and 72.8 %. Thus, an
optimum dosage for which the maximum removal of

TDS and sulphate occurs is 100 g/l (Fig.1). Further,
an optimum dosage (100 g/l), which is corresponding
to the lowest residual TDS and sulphate obtained for
an electroplating industry effluent were 592.97 mg/l
and 264.04 mg/l respectively.
Effect of Rapid Mixing Contact Time
Fig.2 shows the effect of rapid mixing contact time
on removal of TDS and sulphate in an electroplating
industry effluent with an optimum adsorbent dose of
100 g/l and 0 dilution ratios (using initial
concentration). From Fig.3, it may be observed that
upto50 min., concentration of TDS and sulphate in an
electroplating industry effluent decrease, beyond
which they increase. In otherwords, the reduction of
TDS and sulphate in an electroplating industry
effluent increase, beyond which they decrease. The
percentage reduction in concentration of TDS for a
rapid mixing contact time of 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and
60 min. respectively were found to be 0.0 % 20.5 %,
42.2 %, 64.8 %, 76.5 %, 82.3 % and 75.6 %.
Similarly, the percentage reduction in concentration
of sulphate for a rapid mixing contact time of 0, 10,
20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 min. respectively were found to
be 0.0 %, 23.9 %, 45.2 %, 69.3 %, 78.2 %, 84.6 %
and 77.4 %. Thus, an optimum rapid mixing contact
time for which the maximum removal of TDS and
sulphate occurs is 50 min. (Fig.1). Further, an
optimum rapid mixing contact time (50 min.), which
is corresponding to the lowest residual TDS and
sulphate obtained for an electroplating industry
effluent were 488.16 mg/l and 220.99 mg/l
respectively.
100.0 TDS Sulphate
Percentage Removal
80.0
60.0
40.0
20.0
0.0
0 20 40
Rapid Mixing Contact Time, min.
Fig.2 The effect of rapid mixing contact time on TDS and sulphate
reduction in an electroplating industry effluent
Effect of Dilution Ratio
Fig.3 shows the effect of dilution ratio on removal of
TDS and sulphate in an electroplating industry
effluent with an optimum adsorbent dose of 100 g/l
and optimum rapid mixing contact time of 50 min.
From Fig.3, it may be observed that upto5 dilution
ratio, concentration of TDS and sulphate in an
electroplating industry effluent decrease, beyond
which they increase. In otherwords , the reduction of
TDS and sulphate in an electroplating industry
effluent increase, beyond which they decrease. The
percentage reduction in concentration of TDS for a
Fourth National Conference on “Advances and Innovations in Civil and Mechanical Engineering-AICME’14”
Vel Tech High Tech Dr.Rangarajan Dr.Sakunthala Engineering College, Chennai
23rd August 2014
Vol. 3, ISBN 978-81-924827-0-5
dilution ratio of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively were
found to be 38.8 %, 54.7 %, 67.8 %, 74.1 %, 79.6 %
and 86.2 %. Similarly, the percentage reduction in
concentration of sulphate a dilution ratio of 0, 1, 2, 3,
4 and 5 respectively were found to be 44.2 %, 56.3
%, 69.8 %, 76.2 %, 83.1 % and 88.8 %.
100.0 TDS Sulphate
Percentage Removal
80.0
60.0
40.0
20.0
0.0
0 2 4 6
Dilution Ratio
Fig.3 The effect of dilution ratio on TDS and sulphate reduction in
an electroplating industry effluent
Thus, an optimum dilution ratio for which the
maximum removal of TDS and sulphate occurs is 5.
(Fig.2). Further, an optimum dilution ratio (5), which
is corresponding to the lowest residual TDS and
sulphate obtained for an electroplating industry
effluent were 380.60 mg/l and 160.72 mg/l
respectively. The photographic view of before and
after treatment of electroplating industry effluent for
the parameters TDS and sulphate by Albizia lebbeck
pod powder in Phipps and Bird jar test apparatus is
shown in Photo 2 and Photo 3 respectively.
60 80 Photo 2 Photographic View of Electroplating Industry Effluent
before Treatment by Albizia lebbeck Pod Powder
Photo 3 Photographic View of Electroplating Industry Effluent
after Treatment by Albizia lebbeck Pod Powder
Equilibrium Study
Adsorption isotherms are mathematical models that
describe the distribution of the adsorbate species
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 Fourth National Conference on “Advances and Innovations in Civil and Mechanical Engineering-AICME’14”
among liquid and adsorbent, based on a set of
assumptions that are mainly related to the
heterogeneity/homogeneity of adsorbents, the type of
coverage and possibility of interaction between the
adsorbate species. Adsorption data are usually
described by adsorption isotherms, such as Langmuir
and Freundlich isotherms. These isotherms relate
metal uptake per unit mass of adsorbent, qe, to the
equilibrium adsorbate concentration in the bulk fluid
phase Ce.
The Langmuir model is based on the assumption that
the maximum adsorption occurs when a saturated
monolayer of solute molecules is present on the
adsorbent surface, the energy of adsorption is
constant and there is no migration of adsorbate
molecules in the surface plane. The Langmuir
isotherm is given by:
(2)
The constants in the Langmuir isotherm can be
determined by plotting (1/qe) versus (1/ Ce) and
making use of above equation rewritten as:
(3)
Where, qm and KL are the Langmuir constants,
representing the maximum adsorption capacity for the
solid phase loading and the energy constant related to
the heat of adsorption respectively.
The experimental results obtained for the optimum
adsorbent dosage of 100 g/l, rapid mixing contact
time of 50 min. against the different dilution ratio is
used to fit the isotherm model. In this study,
Longmuir isotherm was used to fit the experimental
data of TDS and sulphate in an electroplating industry
effluent and is presented in Figs.4 and 5 respectively.
3.5
3.0 TDS
2.5
Ce/qe
Vel Tech High Tech Dr.Rangarajan Dr.Sakunthala Engineering College, Chennai
23rd August 2014
Vol. 3, ISBN 978-81-924827-0-5
It can be seen from Figs.4 and 5 that the isotherm
data fits the Langmuir equation well (R2=0.9984 for
TDS and 0.9976 for sulphate). From Fig.4, the
values of qm and KL were found to be 1.97 mg/g and
0.0014 L/mg for the parameter TDS. From Fig.5, the
values of qm and KL were found to be 2.5 mg/g and
0.0071 L/mg for the parameter sulphate.
CONCLUSION
The experiments have been performed to know the
effect of Albizia lebbeck pod powder for removing
TDS and sulphate in the electroplating industry
effluent. The experimental data were fitted to
Langmuir isotherm model. The results of the present
study indicated that the adsorption capacity of Albizia
lebbeck pod powder for removing TDS and sulphate
in the electroplating industry effluent increased with
decreasing of initial concentration. It was also found
that adsorption of TDS and sulphate by Albizia
lebbeck pod powder occurred very rapidly within the
first 10 min. and equilibrium occurred at 50 min.
Further, the maximum adsorption by the Albizia
lebbeck pod powder for removing TDS and sulphate
in the electroplating industry effluent found to be
86.2 % and 88.8 % respectively and were obtained at
an optimum dosage of 100 mg/l, concentration
dilution of 5 and rapid mixing contact time of 50 min.
Based on the results obtained from the isotherm
model, the equilibrium data found fitted well with
Langmuir isotherm model. Thus, the results of
experimental and model studies indicated that use of
Albizia lebbeck pod powder for removing TDS and
sulphate in the electroplating industry effluent seems
to be an economical and worthwhile alternative over
conventional methods.
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