DESIGN OF FIXED BED COLUMN FOR THE REMOVAL OF METAL CONTAMINANTS FROM INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER

Z.R. Yelebe, B. Z. Yelebe and R.J. Samuel

Department of Chemical/Petroleum Engineering

Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State, Nigeria.

E-mail: yelebezr@gmail.com

ABSTRACT: A mathematical model for fixed bed adsorption column was developed and solved numerically by implicit backward Euler finite difference method. The model was simulated using MATLAB R2012a. The paper was able to consider the design and the operation of fixed bed adsorption column for the removal of water contaminants from industrial wastewater in a concise manner, having been able to obtain the breakthrough curve. The parametric study carried out on the model revealed that smaller bed porosity reduces the solute residence time in the bed and consequently increases the adsorption rate and that decrease in particle diameter decreases the breakthrough time. However, increase in flow rate increases the adsorbate concentration ratio more rapidly. The observations recorded in this study agree excellently with the general observations in other literatures of similar works. Hence, the developed model is suitable and applicable to study the fixed bed adsorption column performance under isothermal conditions.