Testing and Evaluation Performance of Borosilicate Glasses for Ammonia, Nitrate, and Total Nitrogen Removal from Industrial Wastewater

Abstract

Several studies were conducted utilizing various adsorbents in an effort to remove NH₃⁺, NO₃, and total nitrogen (TN) by adsorption process. In this study, Borosilicate glass is used as an adsorbent material. The effectiveness of the adsorbent in removing NH₃⁺, NO₃, and TN was examined, that in relation to the effect of solution characteristics. Three different types of glass intermediate oxides (Al₂O_3, SnO, and Bi₂O₃) were used to synthesize three different samples of borosilicate glass (adsorbents), that to study their effect on the adsorption efficiency of borosilicate glass. Aluminum oxide Al₂O₃ was used to synthesize adsorbent (I), tin oxide SnO was used to synthesize adsorbent (J), and bismuth oxide Bi₂O₃ was used to synthesize adsorbent (K). Adsorbents (I, J, and K) achieved a clear improvement in the performance of the adsorption process. Despite the convergence of competencies, adsorbents J and K were superior to adsorbent I. With adsorbent K and an initial concentration of contaminants 28 mg NH₃⁺/ L, 28 mg NO₃/ L, and 60 mg TN / L, the removal efficiency of NH₃⁺, NO₃, and TN was 49.5%, 55%, and 40%, respectively. The removal efficiency increased with initial concentration of contaminants increasing, which became around 79% NH₃⁺, 93% NO₃, and 88% TN for adsorbent K. The best efficiency of ammonia removal achieved with pH value 8.9, it was 64.1%, 75.3%, and 77.1% for adsorbents I, J, and K, respectively. The highest efficiency of nitrate removal was in acidic case, reaching 90.1%, 95.2%, and 93.8% for adsorbents I, J, and K, respectively, at pH value 4.1. Adsorption data were fitted with Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models to demonstrate the adsorption behavior of NH₃⁺, NO₃, and TN onto adsorbents (I, J, and K). It was found that the data were well fitted to both models. Overall, the findings demonstrated that borosilicate glass has the potential to be an effective adsorbent for the removal of ammonia, nitrate, and total nitrogen from industrial effluent.