Abstract:
Water pollution by various pollutants: organic dyes, heavy metals and emerging contaminants,
is a serious issue in Sri Lanka, seeking attention from research scientists in order to develop cost-effective
strategies for the efficient removal. Hence, novel strategies, related to the adsorption science, were tested
at the Department of Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Jaffna, for the
proficient removal of pollutants from water. Accordingly, the biochar, derived from neem (Azadirachta
indica) chips, has been used successfully for the removal of an emerging contaminant called ‘mancozeb’
from water. Furthermore, engineered biochar derived from the neem chips, using iron catalyst, has
productively been used for the removal of an organic dye called ‘methylene blue’. In addition, the use of
biosorbents for the removal of different organic pollutants has successfully been tested. Moreover, rigorous
testing methods: isotherm analysis, kinetic analysis, X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared
Spectroscopy (FTIR), ratelimiting factor determination and adsorption thermodynamics, have effectively
been used to understand the adsorption mechanism of different, harmful pollutants, present in water, using
novel adsorbents, which can be developed at the commercial level. The findings of the research works
indicated that the biosorbent called ‘sprout casing of palmyrah (Borassus flabellifer)’ had expressed the
adsorption capacity of 27.67 ± (0.05) mg/g to methylene blue. Moreover, the neem chip biochar, pyrolyed
at 900oC, exhibited the better adsorptive performance (187.68 mg/g) to an emerging contaminant called
‘mancozeb’. Besides, engineered biochar, derived from neem chips, using iron catalyst showed the
adsorptive performance of 63.39 mg/g. Thes findings have been published in indexed journals.
Furthermore, many scientific investigations are being done at the Environmental Research Laboratory of
the Department of Agricultural Engineering, University of Jaffna in order to develop novel, effective
adsorbents for commercial applications.
