1

REMOVAL OF COPPER (II) METAL

IONS FROM INDUSTRIAL
WASTEWATER BY USING ION
EXCHANGE APPARATUS

GROUP MEMBERS
Furqan Ahmed-- 15CH19(G.L)
SUPERVISED BY : Syed Moiz Ali-15CH101(A.G.L)
Prof. Dr. Shaheen Aziz Huzaifa Ghayoor--15CH145
Kanwal Kumar--15CH155
Ghulam Murtaza--15CH159
2
Department of Chemical Engineering
CONTENTS
• INTRODUCTION
• LITERATURE REVIEW
• PROBLEM STATEMENT
• SCOPE & JUSTIFICATIONS
• OBJECTIVES
• METHODOLOGY
• RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
• CONCLUSIONS
• FUTURE SUGGESTIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
• REFERENCES
3
INTRODUCTION

4
 Introduction
• Wastewater effluents are the largest
source of metal pollution in fresh
waters and use of wastewater for
irrigation is a major contributor to
metal pollution in the food supply.[1-3]
• Removal of metals during wastewater
treatment is essential for the protection
of fresh waters and food supplies and
can be done as a final polishing step
prior to discharge.[4-6]
• Copper is one of the heavy metal
which is potential risk to the human
and environmental health when it is Fig 1: Industrial effluent
discharged from the industries. discharge

5
Introduction
 Drinking water is contaminated due the toxicity of heavy metals,
which further causes problems in food chain and soil.[7-9]
Following industries discharges considerable amount of Copper in
their effluents.

• Electroplating
• Cable
• Leather
• Pharmaceuticals
• Paint and Dyes
• Fertilizers
 The contamination of copper is increasing during the past few
years. 6
 Environmental Effects
• Copper can gain access in to the
environment through the industries
effluents, domestic wastewater, burning of
fossil fuels and mining of copper.[4]
• Copper damages the environment through
following ways:
 Enters into ground and surface water
 Accumulates in soil, plants and animals
 Slows down the activity of
microorganisms and earthworms
 Effects the farmlands
 Damages the food chain Fig 2: Copper wastewater discharge in lake

• In 2015, industries released about 1.4

Million mg/L of copper into the
environment.[10-12] 7
Health Effects
 Copper contamination in water may
cause certain diseases:

• Wilson’s disease
• Hepatic Encephalopathy
• Men’s kinky hair disease
• Idiopathic copper toxicosis Fig 3: Wilson’s Disease

• Tremor
• Peripheral edema

Fig 4: Peripheral Edema Fig 5: Tremors8

Copper Contamination in Pakistan

Fig 6: Regions of Pakistan with considerable amount of Copper

contamination in water 9
Copper standard limits in Water

Standard Limits
S. No: Category
(mg/L)
1. Drinking Water 1.3

2. Industrial wastewater 3

3. Irrigation 2

10
ION EXCHANGE
• Ion exchange can be defined as a
certain process in which undesired
ions are displaced or exchanged
with other ions having similar
charges.

• The displaced ions are deposited on

the surface held by electrostatic
forces, while the original ions go in
to the solution.[13-16]

• This technique is commonly used

for Water demineralization. Fig 7: Ion Exchange Process

11
ION EXCHNAGE RESINS
• An ion exchange resin or ion exchange polymer can be
described as the material that serves as the medium for ion
exchange process.

• It is a white or yellowish insoluble matrix or support structure

which is in the form of smaller microbeads usually ranging from
0.25 to 0.5 mm radius.

• These are of two types:

1. Anionic Resins: attracts negatively charged ions (Chlorides,
Arsenic, Fluorides)

1. Cationic Resins: attracts positively charged ions (Copper,

Sodium, Magnesium)

12
 Ion Exchange Apparatus
• The ion exchange process takes
place in a vessel or column.

• Retention parts at the bottom

and the top of the vessel consist
of slotted cylinders, screens,
tubes, pump and other required
devices having openings smaller
than the resins micro porous
beads.

• Resins bed is formulated in the

tubes of the column through
which the water samples are
passed in order to remove
desired metals.
Fig 8: Ion Exchange Apparatus 13
LITERATURE REVIEW

14
 Literature Review
AUTHOR TITLE DESCRIPTION

Copper Removal from Various different techniques

Sajeda et al. (2017) Industrial Wastewater: A for the removal of Copper
Comprehensive Review from wastewater

Equilibrium and Kinetics of Study of equilibrium models

Siu et al. (2015) Copper Ions Removal From and parameters for copper
Wastewater by Ion Exchange removal

Evaluation of Chelate Ion Use of two resins to evaluate

Serpil & Erol (2016)
and Cation Exchange Resins their efficiency for the
to Remove Copper Ions removal of copper from water

Evaluation of Heavy Metal Purification methods to

Rudnicki et al. (2014) Ions from Acidic Wastewater remove certain heavy metals
Streams form acidic waste streams

15
 Literature Review
AUTHOR TITLE DESCRIPTION
Removal of Heavy Metal Ions A case study of evaluating
from Wastewaters: A review current adsorption methods
Fenglian & Wang (2011) for rejecting heavy metals
from water
Removal of Copper Ions from
Dilute Synthetic Solution A review study on ion
Rhulani et al. (2016) Using Staple Ion Exchange exchange process parameters
Fibers: Dynamic Studies
A Review on Adsorbents for
Treatment of Water and Study of different adsorbents
Vesna et al. (2018) Wastewater Containing for copper removal
Copper Ions
Removal of Copper from Copper rejection from nickel
Chen et al. (2009) Nickel Anode Electrolyte anode electrolyte by ion
Through Ion Exchanger exchange method

Pavel N. (2018) Ion Exchange-Overview Ion exchange method

16
 Literature Review
AUTHOR TITLE DESCRIPTION
Competitive Removal of
Heavy Metal Ions from Squid Heavy metals removal from
Tavakoli et al. (2017) Oil under Isothermal organic solution by ion
Condition by CR11 Chelate exchange resin
Ion Exchanger

Removal of Chromium from

Removal of Chromium by ion
S. Rengaraj et al. (2001) Water and Wastewater by
exchange resins
Ion Exchange Resins

Marine Macro-algae Pelvetia

Canaliculata (Linnaeus) as
Natural Cation Exchanger for Copper metal ions removal by
Francielle et al. (2014) Metal Ions Separation: A using biological resins
case Study on Copper and
Zinc Ions Removal
Efficient Removal of Copper
Copper removal from
from Wastewater by Using
Huiman et al. (2017) industrial wastewater by
Mechanically Activated
Activated CaCO3 as adsorbent
Calcium Carbonate
17
 Literature Review
AUTHOR TITLE DESCRIPTION

Removal of Copper Ions from an

Utilization of electro-sorption
Aqueous Solution Containing a
technique for the removal of
Huang & Siao (2018) Chelating Agent by Electro-
copper metal ions from
sorption on Mesoporous Carbon
aqueous solution
Electrodes

Selective Removal of the Heavy

Study of ion exchange method
Metal Ions from Waters and
Dabrowski et al. (2004) for the removal of various
Industrial Wastewaters by Ion-
heavy metal ions
Exchange Method

Removal Of Metal and Anions

Kaisa & Lehto (2002) Ion exchange method for the
from Drinking Water by Ion
removal of anions and metals
Exchange

Use of Polymeric Sub-Micron Ion-

Exchange Resins for Removal of Heavy metal removal by
Audrey & Banu (2018) Lead, Copper, Zinc and Nickel polymer resins.
from Natural Waters

18
Problem Statement
 Several industrial wastewater streams may contain Copper
(Cu) metal ions. If the wastewaters were discharged directly
into natural waters, it will constitute a great risk to:
• Human life
• Aquatic life
• Food chain
• Plants and Farmlands
• Soil
• Biological wastewater treatment

 The accumulation of copper ions in human body causes

brain, skin, pancreas and heart diseases.
19
SCOPE & JUSTIFICATIONS
• To decontaminate the industrial wastewater from copper metal
ions which ultimately reduces a portion of water pollution on earth.
• To reduce the potential health risk to human, animals and aquatic
life due to copper consumption.
• It also decreases the chances of damage to plants, farmlands, soils
and food chain.
• The project is beneficial to extract precious metal at some extent
which can be used by industries in reprocess method.
• To design and fabricate an effective and feasible ion exchange
apparatus for the removal of copper metal ions.
• Ion exchange process is the most efficient method among other
conventional methods for the removal of heavy metals.

20
OBJECTIVES
1. To design and fabricate the ion exchange apparatus to
stimulate the ion exchange method for industrial waste water
treatment.

2. To utilize the ion exchange apparatus fir the removal of

Copper metal ions from industrial wastewater.

3. To calculate the initial and final concentrations of Copper

metal ions in industrial wastewater for the computation of
treatment efficiencies by ion exchange apparatus.

21
METHODOLOGY

22
METHODOLOGY
• The Methodology is divided in five different sections:
• Ion Exchange Fabrication and
1. Functionalization.

• Wastewater sample collection.

2.

• Analysis of Wastewater.
3.

4.
Treatment of Wastewater samples.

5.
Studying the Parameters.
23
Designing and Fabrication
 The stages involved in fabrication of ion
exchange apparatus are:

Measurement Procurement Fabrication

24
Measurement
• Length of the columns = 19.3 inches
• Length of the Bed = 7 inches
• Inner diameter of Column = 16mm
• Flowrate = 60-80 cm3/min

25
 Procurement
 The materials that were purchased for the fabrication are listed
below:
• Acrylic Tubes (19.3 inches in length of each tube)
• Flexible pipes (20 feet)
• Ion exchange Resins (Anionic and Cationic)
• Carpented Wooden Frame Backboard
• Filter screen
• Screws and Nuts
• Iron Stand
• Aluminum side sheets
• Fixing solution and Glue
• Wood Polish and paint
26
Ion Exchange Apparatus Layout

Fig 9: Ion Exchange Apparatus Layout 27

Components of Ion Exchange Apparatus
1- Diaphragm Pump: The wastewater
samples water, to be treated, is supplied
to the Ion exchange column via this
pump. The source of power of pump is
Electrical switch.

Fig 10: Diaphragm Pump

2- Flow Control Valve: A flow control

valve is installed at the base of
flowmeter to regulate flow of water,
regenerating solution as per
requirement.

Fig 11: Flow Control Valve

28
Components of Ion Exchange Apparatus
3- Acrylic Tubes: The resins
bed is made inside the acrylic
tubes of the column for water
treatment. Their outer dia is
22mm while inner one is 16mm
having length of 19.3 inches.
Fig 12: Acrylic Tubes

4- Flowmeter: Flowmeter is attached to

flow valve to measure the flow of
passing fluid in the column. The range of
flow meter is 10-80 cm3/min.

29
Fig 13: Flowmeter
Components of Ion Exchange Apparatus

5- Conductivity Meter: This

provides with the facility to
monitor the quality of emerging
water from the ion exchange
apparatus, connected to inline
sector of sump tank.
Fig 14: Conductivity Meter

6- Sump Tank: The liquids to be

passed through the exchange
columns are stored in the sump
tank arranged to the left of the
apparatus and supplied via a pump
and flowmeter.

Fig 15: Sump Tank F30

Components of Ion Exchange Apparatus
7- Flexible Pipes: Flexible tubes or pipes are installed throughout
the apparatus for the flowing of fluid. These pipes connect the
valves and assist in moving the fluid.

Fig 16: Flexible Pipes

31
Ion Exchange Resins
Cationic Resins: Pure C100 is the
product name for cation exchange
resins by the supplier Gel structured
polystyrene cross-linked with divinyl-
benzene, contains sulfonic
functionality.
Fig 17: Pure C100 Cationic Resins

Anionic Resins: Pure PA301 is the

product name for anion exchange
resins, it is a microporous polystyrene
weak-base anion exchange resin,
contains tertiary amine functionality

32
Fig 18: Pure PA301 Anionic Resins
Properties of Ion Exchange resins

33
Fabrication
• All these components were fitted at the right places so as to achieve
proper and un-interrupted flow of the water throughout the
apparatus.
• The backboard serves as the centre where all these components
were fixed.
• The columns were fitted at the centre of the backboard containing
ion exchange resins, at the right side , conductivity meter was placed
of it.
• The flowmeter and flow valve is fitted just at the left side of the
columns.
• The sump tank was placed at the left side of backboard along with
its connections.
• The diaphragm pump is placed on the top of the sump tank.
• The flexible pipes are interconnecting all these components to
ensure a proper flow of the feed.
34
Fig 19: Fabricated Ion Exchange Apparatus 35
Collection of Water Samples
• The water samples that are used for treatment were
collected from an Electroplating industry called Sametco
Engineerings, located in Hyderabad.

• The water samples were collected in different times and

containing different amount of copper in each sample.

• We collected three different samples from the industry in

order to get varied results after the treatment for better
evaluation.

36
 Pre-Analysis of Collected Samples

• The samples were initially

filtered in order to remove the any
TSS and to reduce turbidity.

Fig 20: Filtration of Samples

• The collected samples were then

analysed by Atomic absorption
Spectrometer equipment to
determine the initial concentration
of Copper before treatment.
Fig 21: Atomic Absorption Spectrometer
37
Treatment of Water Samples
• After pre-analysis, the three
samples were then treated in
the fabricated ion exchange
apparatus at appropriate
conditions.

• The wastewater samples were

taken into 250 ml volume for
treatment.

Fig 22: Wastewater Treatment

38
 Post-Analysis of Treated Samples
• After the treatment, the
samples were collected into
bottles and preserved.

Fig 23: Treated Water samples

• Then they were again analysed in atomic adsorption

spectrometer equipment to analyse the final concentration of
copper ions after treatment to calculate the separation efficiency
and the performance of the Ion exchange apparatus.
39
 RESULTS
AND
DISCUSSIONS

40
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
• The aim of our project is to remove the contaminants of copper
ions from industrial waster water by the use of ion exchange
equipment
• The separation efficiency, size of resins and effect of flowrate
of water is discussed in this section.
• One of outcome of this project was to evaluate the separation
efficiency of ion exchange resins in terms of copper separation
from wastewater.

41
Properties of sample water before
treatment

Metal Concentration
Sample Name Containing metal Ph Value
(PPM)

Sample 1 Copper ions

Sample 2 Copper ion

Sample 3 Copper ions

42
INLET CONCENTRATIONS
• The graph shows the analysis of each samples in terms of
inlet concentration of copper in water.

Fig 24: Inlet Copper Concentrations

43
Properties of sample water after
treatment

Copper Concentraion
Sample Name Ph Value
(PPM)

Sample 1

Sample 2

Sample 3

44
OUTLET CONCENTRATIONS
• The graph shows the analysis of each samples in terms of inlet
concentration of copper in water after the treatment.

Fig 25: Outlet Copper Concentrations

45
CHANGE IN CONCENTRATION
BEFORE AND AFTER TREATMENT
• The graph shows the change in copper concentration in water
samples before and after the treatment.

Fig 26: Change in inlet and outlet Conc. 46

SEPERATION EFFICINECY
• The graph shows the separation efficiency for the removal of
copper from wastewater by ion exchange apparatus.

Fig 27: Separation Efficiency 47

VALIDATION OF RESULTS
• These graphs shows the comparison of our results with other
authors in terms of Copper removal.

Fig 28: Validation of Results 48

CONCLUSIONS

49
CONCLUSIONS
• The ion exchange apparatus were able to remove 76.3%, 74%
and 78.9% from sample 1, 2 and 3 of industrial wastewater
respectively.

• The fabricated Ion exchanger gave the efficiency of 76% at an

average.

• It was concluded that the ion exchange technique is quite

effective and more result oriented than other conventional
techniques.

50
Economic Evaluation
• The central objective of this project was to fabricate ion
exchange apparatus which must be efficient and economical
for the local industries of Pakistan and its different regions.

• In all the stages of project development the cost

requirement was highly reduced and optimized so that this
project can be applicable on feasible grounds.

•The cost of Ion exchange apparatus system is calculated

18000Rs.

51
Future Suggestions & Recommendations
1. Ion exchange method can be used in various industries that deals
with Copper and other metals as the wastewater treatment
technology.
2. Exploration for the best optimal conditions so that the removal
efficiency of ion exchange resins can be enhanced and
optimized.
3. The head-loss and other fluid-packed properties Ion exchange
resins can be simulated using any standard code of
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).
4. The wastewater should be pre-treated in order to filter the large
waste particles in order to protect the apparatus from any
damage and to increase the life of resins.
5. A detail economic analysis and feasibility report can be establish
to commercialize the concept on social and economic grounds.
52
 References
• [1] Sajeda A., Al-Saydeh, Muftah H.,El-Naas, Syed J. Zaidi (2017),
“Copper Removal from Industrial Wastewater: A Comprehensive
Review”, Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 56, 2017, pp. 35-
44.

• [2] P.C.C.
Siu, L.F. Koong, J. Saleem, J. Barford, G. McKay (2015),
“Equilibrium and Kinetics of Copper Ions Removal From Wastewater
by Ion Exchange”, Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 24, 2016, pp.
94-100.

Erol Pehlivan (2016), “Evaluation of Chelate Ion and

• [3] Serpil Edebali,
Cation Exchange Resins to Remove Copper Ions”, Powder Technology
301, 2016, pp. 520-525.

Rudnicki, Z. Hubicki, D. Kolodynska (2014), “Evaluation of Heavy

• [4] P.
Metal Ions from Acidic Wastewater Streams”, Chemical Engineering
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53
References
• [5] Fenglian Fu,
Qi Wang (2010), “Removal of Heavy Metal Ions from
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pp. 407-418.

• [6] Rhulani
N. Ntimbani, Geoffery S. Simate, Sehliselo Ndlovu (2016),
“Removal of Copper Ions from Dilute Synthetic Solution Using Staple
Ion Exchange Fibres: Dynamic Studies”, Journal of Environmental
Engineering, Volume 4, Issue 3, September 2016, pp. 3143-3150

Krstic, Tamara Urosevic, Branka Pesovski (2018), “A Review on

• [7] Vesna
Adsorbents for Treatment of Water and Wastewater Containing Copper
Ions”, Chemical Engineering Sciences, Volume 192, 2018, pp. 273-287.

N. Nestrenko (2018), “Ion Exchange-Overview”, Reference

• [8] Pavel
Module in Chemistry, Molecular Sciences and Chemical Engineering, 2018.

• [9] Ai-Liang
Chen, Ghuan Zhou Qui, Zhong-Wei Zhao, Pei-Mei Sun, Run-
Lan Yu (2008), “Removal of Copper from Nickel Anode Electrolyte
Through Ion Exchanger”, Transactions of Nonferrous Metals Society of
China, Volume 19, Issue 1, February 2008, pp. 253-258. 54
 References
• [10] Omid Tavakoli, Vahabodin Goodarzi, Mohammad Reza Saeb, Niyaz Mohammad
Mahmoodi, Rafael Borja (2017), “Competitive Removal of Heavy Metal Ions from
Squid Oil under Isothermal Condition by CR11 Chelate Ion Exchanger”, Journal of
Hazardous Materials, Volume 334, 15 July 2017, pp. 256-266.

• [11] S. Rengaraj , Kyeong-Ho Yeon, Seung-Hyeon Moon (2001), “Removal of

Chromium from Water and Wastewater by Ion Exchange Resins”, Journal of
Hazardous Materials, B87, 2001, pp. 273-287.

• [12] Francielle Girardi, Fabiola V. Hackbarth, Selene M.A. Guelli U. de Souza, Antonio
Augusto U. de Souza, Rui A.R. Boabentura, Vitor J.P. Vilar (2014), “Marine Macro-
algae Pelvetia Canaliculata (Linnaeus) as Natural Cation Exchanger for Metal
Ions Separation: A case Study on Copper and Zinc Ions Removal”, Chemical
Engineering Journal, 247, 2014, pp. 320-329.

• [13] Huiman Hu, Xueweu Li, Pengwu Huang, Qiwu Zhang, Wenyi Yuan (2017),
“Efficient Removal of Copper from Wastewater by Using Mechanically Activated
Calcium Carbonate”, Journal of Environmental Management, 203, 2017, pp. 1-7.
55
References
• [14] Chen-Chia Huang, Shu-Fang Siao (2018), “Removal of Copper Ions
from an Aqueous Solution Containing a Chelating Agent by Electro-
sorption on Mesoporous Carbon Electrodes”, Journal of the Taiwan
Institute of Chemical Engineers, 85, 2018, pp. 29-39.
• [15] A. Dabrowski, Z. Hubicki, P. Podkoscielny, E. Robens (2003),
“Selective Removal of the Heavy Metal Ions from Waters and Industrial
Wastewaters by Ion-Exchange Method”, Chemosphere, 56, 2004, pp. 91-
106.
• [16] Kaisa Vaaramaa, Jukka Lehto (2002), “Removal of Metals and Anions
from Drinking Water by Ion Exchange”, Desalination, 155, pp. 157-170.

Banu Ormeci (2018), “Use of Polymeric Sub-Micron

• [17] Audrey Murray,
Ion-Exchange Resins for Removal of Lead, Copper, Zinc and Nickel
from Natural Waters”, Journal of Environmental Sciences, 2018.

56