Abstract:
The objective of this study was to compare the performance of waste derived biosorbents -
rice hull and peanut hull in removing nutrients from rice mill wastewater. Batch adsorption
experiments were conducted for both biosorbents separately for varying doses (0 6 g/L) and
contact times (0 300 min) under uniform experimental conditions to determine the optimum
dosage and optimum contact time respectively. The efficiencies of the biosorbents were tested
in terms of removal (%) of nitrates and phosphates from wastewater. Results revealed, the
rice hull and the peanut hull do significantly remove nutrients from the wastewater (p value<0.05). The optimum doses of rice hull and peanut hull were 3 g/L and 4 g/L
respectively, and the optimum contact time were 120 mins and 180 mins at their optimum
doses and shaking of 150 rpm.
