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Biosynthesised magnetic iron nanoparticles for sludge dewatering via Fenton process

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Abstract

The magnetic iron nanoparticles (MFeNp) were biosynthesised using the extract of Cinnamomum tamala (bay leaf) and examined for its efficacy on sludge dewatering. The characteristics of MFeNp were studied using scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and x-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS) techniques. The presence of polyphenolic compounds were confirmed by FTIR and XPS analysis. The reduction in capillary suction time (CST) (71.36 to 16.5 s) and specific resistance to filtration (SRF) (53.71 × 1011 to 1.47 × 1011 m/kg) values have indicated that the use of Fenton nanocatalyst enhanced the sludge dewaterability. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis has shown that the mass of bound water in the treated sludge was decreased significantly from 1.45 to 0.92 kg H2O/kg DS. The breakdown of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) by the MFeNp leads to the significant reduction in proteins, polysaccharides, water content and heavy metals. The optimisation using response surface modelling (RSM) have shown that the maximum removal efficiency of water from the sludge was 85.9 % when the optimum pH (3) MFeNp dosage (50 mg/g DS) and H2O2 dosage (500 mg/g DS) were maintained. The experimental results and the statistical optimisation have suggested that MFeNp can be used as a potential nanocatalyst for the sludge dewaterability and hence it can be used for the agricultural purpose.

Schematic representation of sludge dewatering process

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the VIT University, Vellore, for providing the necessary facilities and infrastructure to carry out this work. Further, the authors extend their gratitude to the reviewers for their valuable suggestions which helped in improving the quality of the work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil and Chemical Engineering, VIT University, Vellore, 632014, India

    Anu Mary Ealias, Jephin Varughese Jose & M. P. Saravanakumar

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  1. Anu Mary Ealias
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  2. Jephin Varughese Jose
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  3. M. P. Saravanakumar
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Correspondence to M. P. Saravanakumar.

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Responsible editor: Suresh Pillai

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Ealias, A.M., Jose, J.V. & Saravanakumar, M.P. Biosynthesised magnetic iron nanoparticles for sludge dewatering via Fenton process. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 21416–21430 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7351-4

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