Removal of Heavy Metals from Tannery Wastewater by using Sawdust and Spent Tea Leaves as an Adsorbent

Innovative processes for treating tannery wastewater containing heavy metals often involve technologies for reduction of toxicity in order to meet standards. Adsorbent is the most frequently studied and widely applied for the treatment of metalcontaminated wastewater. The removal of heavy metals e.g., chromium, nickel and lead from tannery wastewater at low concentrations is a recurring challenge, especially in developing countries. Batch studies were performed to evaluate the influences of various experimental parameters like adsorbent dose, contact time and pH. The removal of dyes from effluent using adsorption process provides an attractive alternative treatment, especially if the adsorbant is inexpensive and readily available. In this study, the low-cost adsorbant spent tea leaves and saw dust were used for removal of heavy metals from waste effluent of leather tanning industry. The adsorbants were found to be capable of removing heavy metals from wastewater; the metals removal capacity for spent tea leaves was approximately 99% at optimum dose, contact time and pH.