HDPE Pelletised Plastics Cure for Heavy Metals in Water, Waste-water
Pelletised Plastics
Disposing the increasing number of used-electronics with plastic casings, which are usually High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) in nature around the world is an emerging waste management concern globally. A recent study on the usefulness of pelletized discarded electrical fittings for the removal of heavy metals from water and wastewater, have been discovered to possess basic properties needed for adsorptive treatment of water, due to their high carbon content.
Significant removal of metals such as cadmium, iron, chromium and nickel was observed mostly within 10 minutes of stirring, using Pelletised Electrical Plastics (PEP) dosage of 20mg, it was observed that the treatment efficiency was 100% in most of the water samples used, while the metal concentration in all water samples collected could be considered as relatively low.
Dr. David Omole of the Department of Civil Engineering, Covenant University, and his research team in a recent study demonstrated the potential of PEP as a good material in the removal of metals from drinking and wastewater. Thus, future researchers may consider synthesizing the metal pollutants in the laboratory in order to investigate the rate of metal removal at higher concentrations and maximum adsorbing capacity of PEP for various metals. If found to be a good metal adsorptive material, PEP could be found to be better use in water treatment, thereby constituting less environmental nuisance.
