Removal of aquatic toxicity by activated carbon produced from industrial sludge

Abstract

The valorization of industrial sludge through beneficiation has attracted the attention of several researchers. The expectation is to optimize the reuse and recovery of biosolids generated in wastewater treatment plants by converting them into a product with greater added value, followed by efficient reintegration into the wastewater treatment process. Industry is an important segment of any country's economy for generating employment and quality of life, but it is also a major consumer of natural resources, generating greenhouse gases, solid waste, effluents and sludge. The aim of this work was to review the literature to investigate the synthesis of activated carbon (AC) using industrial sludge as a precursor material, its application in the removal of micropollutants and toxicity in real and synthetic effluents. It was observed that the synthesis route of AC plays a more significant role in their obtainment than the nature of the sludge itself, with reactor temperature and time, activation type, and activator impregnation ratio being the most influential variables. These adsorbents proved to be efficient at removing micropollutants, with up to 99% removal of un. pt-co from textile effluents and toxicity, with up to 100% removal of saline artemia mortality. Therefore, the management of industrial sludge for valorization into value-added material proved to be a viable alternative with proven efficiency in the removal of emerging micropollutants and toxicity. However, the literature is still scarce on the production of CA from industrial sludge and more scientific research is needed, especially with regard to the application of these adsorbents for the removal of aquatic toxicity.