Assessing the Efficiency of Sugarcane and Ginger Powder and Their Activated Carbon in Removing Magnesium and Calcium Ions from Water
نویسندگان
1 Research Platform for Environmental Science (EDST-PRASE), Doctoral School, Lebanese University, Beirut 1003, Lebanon
2 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of science, Islamic University of Lebanon(IUL), Khaldeh, 1001, Lebanon
3 Research Platform for Environmental Science (EDST-PRASE), Doctoral School, Lebanese University, Beirut 1003, Lebanon
4 College of Engineering and Technology, American University of the Middle East, Egaila, 54200, Kuwait
5 Research Platform for Environmental Science (EDST-PRASE), Doctoral School, Lebanese University, Beirut 1003, Lebanon
6 Research Platform for Environmental Science (EDST-PRASE), Doctoral School, Lebanese University, Beirut 1003, Lebanon
7 Department of Chemistry, American University of Beirut, Beirut, 1107, Lebanon
doi
10.48309/chemm.2025.503304.1893چکیده
The health hazards posed by heavy metals, such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg), render their removal from industrial and agricultural wastewater a matter of extreme environmental concern. Among all the physicochemical processes generally exerted, the method of adsorption is chosen above all for the removal of inorganic contaminants even at trace concentrations due to its low cost, high efficiency, and low waste-generation potential compared to traditional chemical precipitation or membrane filtration methods. In this study, the efficiency of adsorption with the use of sugarcane powder, ginger powder, and ginger-derived activated carbon was compared for the decontamination of water containing magnesium, calcium, and methylene blue with respect to various parameters such as pH, humidity, infrared (IR) spectra, initial concentration, adsorbent mass, and particle size. The analysis of the adsorption data using atomic absorption spectroscopy shows that calcium ions are adsorbed better than magnesium ions with both ginger and sugarcane powders. Given the ginger-based adsorbents' capacity to remove ions more effectively compared to sugarcane, ginger materials indicate potential use as a more effective and sustainable option for water treatment. In general, adsorbents produced from ginger were capable of more efficient ion removal than those obtained from sugarcane, thus suggesting their further development as a green alternative for water treatment.
