title: Solid olive waste in environmental cleanup: enhanced nitrite ion removal by ZnCl2-activated carbon.
abstract: This communication describes how olive solid wastes can be used to prepare activated carbon (AC), with soundly high surface areas, suitable to remove nitrite ions from water. Solid olive wastes, so called Jeft, separated as unwanted bi-products from olive oil mills, have been converted into charcoal. The charcoal was then physically and/or chemically activated using different compounds namely conc. H3PO4 or ZnCl2. Charcoal carbonization was performed under inert atmosphere to avoid loss of heated carbon by oxidation with air. Surface area measurements and SEM micrographs showed that activation using ZnCl2 yields AC with highest surface area and more porous surfaces. The ZnCl2-activated carbon was then used to remove nitrite ions from water by adsorption. Effects of different parameters on value of surface area and adsorption capacity of the AC were investigated. Commercial AC materials were used as reference for comparison. The AC showed higher adsorption capacity toward nitrite than other reported adsorbents. The results suggest that using 5 g of the ZnCl2-activated carbon per liter of heavily nitrite-contaminated water (50 ppm) may bring the contaminant concentration down to the WHO accepted concentration limits within 60 min. This work highlights the future feasibility of using olive waste as feed stocks to produce useful renewable materials while keeping in mind the wisdom "make wastes work in environmental protection".
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, An-Najah National University, PO Box 7, Nablus, West Bank, Palestine.
authors.forename: Ahed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zyoud
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, An-Najah National University, PO Box 7, Nablus, West Bank, Palestine.
authors.forename: Hiba N I
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Nassar
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, An-Najah National University, Nablus, PO Box 7, West Bank, Palestine.
authors.forename: Amer
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: El-Hamouz
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, An-Najah National University, PO Box 7, Nablus, West Bank, Palestine. Electronic address: hshilal@najah.edu.
authors.forename: Hikmat S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Hilal
mesh_terms: D002606:Charcoal / Q000737:chemistry*; D002712:Chlorides / Q000737:chemistry*; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation / Q000379:methods*; D009573:Nitrites / Q000737:chemistry*; D031658:Olea; D010756:Phosphoric Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D062611:Solid Waste / Q000032:analysis*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry*; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000517:prevention & control; D017967:Zinc Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D002712:Chlorides; D009573:Nitrites; D010756:Phosphoric Acids; D062611:Solid Waste; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D017967:Zinc Compounds; D002606:Charcoal; C016837:zinc chloride; C030242:phosphoric acid
keywords: Activated carbon; Adsorption; Nitrite ions; Surface area; ZnCl(2)-activating agent