The combined chemical and mechanical modifications of cigarette: a novel methodology to reduce harmful effects

Abstract

The present paper aims to valorize the use of cheap agricultural waste materials for polluted water decontamination. An evaluation of the efficiency of coupling anodic oxidation (AO) using SS/PbO2 electrodes with biosorption by Luffa cylindrica (L.C) for the removal of Amaranth Red (E123) from aqueous solution was investigated. The effects of pH, contact time, and initial concentration were studied. The regeneration of L.C was estimated based on biosorption /desorption tests. The performance of the coupling process was evaluated based on the color, chemical organic carbon (COD), Total organic carbon (TOC) removals, the energy consumed, and the time required for the degradation of Amaranth. A comparison between the efficiency of the AO and the coupling process for the increase of the lifetimes of the anodes used was done. 54.1, 97.8, and 99.9% of 50 mg.L -1 of Amaranth were removed respectively after 85, 65, and 50 min by biosorption, AO, and coupling AO with biosorption. An increase in the percentages of COD, TOC, germination indexes (GI), and Amaranth removals were observed when adopting the coupling process. Furthermore, a decrease in the release of Pb 2+ ions was observed confirming the good stability of the elaborated anodes during the coupling process. Atomic absorption analysis showed that the Pb 2+ ions reached about 0.020 mg.L -1 , after the total removal of Amaranth dye (60 min) and 0.051 after (80 min) respectively, for coupling AO with biosorption and the AO process. These values are inferior to those allowed by the Standards. Phytotoxicity tests confirmed the possibility of the reuse of the treated solutions.