Fixed-bed Column Study for Zn (II) Removal from Solution Using Expanding Rice Husk

The performance of expanding rice husk (ERH) fixed bed column in removing Zn (II) from aqueous solution were studied in this work. Different column design parameters like bed height, flow rate and initial concentration were calculated. It was found that ERH was found to be an effective adsorbent for removal of Zn (II); and when conducted with Zn (H) concentration 12.8 mg L-1 and flow rate 10 ml min(-1) with different bed depths such as 3, 6 and 9 cm, the equilibrium uptake was decreased from 5.181 to 4.33 mg g(-1); the equilibrium uptake also decreased from 4.51 to 3.807 mg g(-1) with increasing of flow rate from 5 to 15 ml min(-1) and increased from 4.447 to 5.752 mg g(-1) when initial concentration increased from 12.8 to 35 mg L-1. The dynamics of adsorption process was modeled by bed depth service time (BDST), and indicating the validity of BDST model when applied to the continuous column studies.