Biosorption of model pollutants in liquid phase on raw and modified rice husks

We studied the application of rice husk (RH) as a biosorbent and we demonstrated that it can be employed for the treatment of dyeing wastewater streams. RH was obtained from Nile Delta (Egypt) and it was used as received, or after a chemical treatment using HNO₃ or NaOH, or after conversion into activated carbon (RH-AC) using H₃PO₄ as activating agent. A commercial activated carbon GAC 830 provided by NORIT was also tested for comparison purposes. These materials were evaluated by adsorption of methylene blue (MB) with an initial concentration of 20 ppm in an aqueous solution at 30°C. The results showed that alkali-treated and RH-AC were the best sorbents. They got a nearly complete MB removal from water and they had better performance than GAC 830. Therefore, the use of RH for pollutant removal makes this method an environment-friendly option and an economically feasible alternative to treat industrial effluents.