Comparative study of improved treatment of oil produced-water using pure and chemically-impregnated activated carbon of banana peels and Luffa cylindrica

Produced water (PW) during oil and gas production operations contains various hazardous substances including heavy metals (HM) with adverse impact on the environment. Disposal of PW interferes environmental sustainability, making treatment obligatory prior to discharge into Among previously available treatments PW, environmentally sustainable methods using low-pore space bio-adsorbents require further development. This study investigated efficacy chemically-modified activated carbon (cMAC) Luffa cylindrica (LC) Banana Peel (BP) for obtained from Niger-Delta oilfield, treated (2, 4, 6 h) finely ground (425 μm) carbonized LC BP impregnated separately phosphoric-acid sodium hydroxide. The derived cMAC was characterized by proximate analysis FTIR spectroscopy. Treated analysed HM AAS, Langmuir, Freundlich isotherms. Obtained values surface area were 880 (NaOH), 830 (H3PO4) m2/g 810 920 m2/g. existence active functional groups is revealed spectra. Results a substantial drop in concentrations (Zn: 30-86%, Cu: 78-88%, Ni: 33-55%, Fe: 17-52%) after at varying contact times. All (Zn, Cu, Ni) except Fe below WHO USEPA guideline limits. Treatment Niger Delta oilfield effectively improved acid-modified L. cylindrica.   Key words: Activated carbon, adsorption, bio-adsorbent, metals, oil-produced water,