Application of dried dairy sludge as a biosorbent for phenol and its derivatives

Phenol and it derivatives are considered as one of the priority pollutants in waste water, because they are harmful to organisms even at very low concentrations. The control as well as removal of these organic compounds has become an important issue due to stringent measures introduced by various countries to enforce regulations concerning wastes originating from various industries. Hence, wastewater containing such compounds must be treated. In this research, the adsorptive capacity of dried dairy sludge originated from a dairy plant was evaluated for the removal of Phenol, 4-chlorophenol and 4-nitrophenol from industrial wastewaters. Batch studies were performed to evaluate the effects of various experimental parameters such as adsorbent dosage, pH and contact time on the removal of these pollutants.The order of adsorption on dried dairy sludge was 4-chlorophenol>Phenol>4-nitrophenol. The studies showed that dried dairy sludge can be used as an efficient adsorbent material for the removal of organic compounds from wastewater.