UTILIZAÇÃO DE CAMA DE FRANGO PARA A REMOÇÃO DE CROMO E NÍQUEL EM AGUAS RESIDUÁRIAS

Abstract

One of the major challenges in today's industrial landscape is the improper disposal of waste, especially waste containing heavy metals, which cause significant contamination of water bodies, affecting the ecosystem and quality of life. Heavy metals, even in low concentrations, can be cytotoxic, carcinogenic, and mutagenic, accumulating in living organisms and blocking biological activities. Nickel and chromium are examples of metals that, in excess, can cause serious health problems. Given the technical and economic infeasibility of conventional methods for treating large volumes of effluents with low concentrations of metals, biosorption emerges as an efficient and economically viable alternative. This technique uses biomass as an adsorbent, with chicken litter being a promising option due to its low cost and high removal capacity. Thus, the objective of this research was to study the potential use of chicken litter in the removal of the heavy metals chromium and nickel from wastewater. The study was conducted at the Chemical Research and Analysis Laboratory of the Federal Institute of Goias - Urutaí Campus, using samples of ground chicken litter. The characteristics of chicken litter, the amount of adsorbed ions, and the removal efficiency at different pH values were evaluated, and the data were fitted to the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. The results indicated that both models adequately describe the adsorption, with the Freundlich model showing a better fit. The maximum adsorption capacity was higher for nickel compared to chromium, following the affinity sequence Ni > Cr. It is concluded that ground chicken litter has great potential for the removal of metallic ions in wastewater treatment systems, showing superior effectiveness to other natural biosorbents and being an economical alternative.