Assessment of Fixed Bed Column Reactor using Low Cost Adsorbent (Rice Husk) for Removal of Total Dissolved Solids

A continuous fixed bed column reactor was designed using low cost media and was assessed for its efficiency of treatment of ground water. The sorption capability of Rice Husk (media) for removing Total Dissolved Solids and Calcium, Magnesium and Chloride ions was evaluated in a fixed bed column reactor. The column experiment was conducted by varying the bed height and solution flow rate. It was observed that by increasing the flow rate of influent synthetic sample, the TDS removal efficiency decreased from 21% to 10.56% as the flow rate was increased from 40 to 102 mL/min. Due to increase in the influent flow rate, the contact period of ground water with the risk husk (media) decreased which resulted in less amount of adsorption of TDS by the media and therefore less removal .At a flow rate (40 mL/min), it was observed that removal efficiency of TDS is 20.79% at a height of 10 cm from the base of column;13.81% and 10.10% for the heights 20 cm and 30 cm respectively. It was inferred that removal efficiency increases as the depth of the adsorption media increases due to greater surface area available for the sample for adsorption. It was also observed that rice husk has a tendency to adsorb a greater amount of calcium ions in comparison to chloride and magnesium ions. This was verified from our observations when at flow rate of 40mL/min and at a height of 10 cm from the base of the column, removal efficiency for calcium ions is 37.5% and for chloride and magnesium ions is 22.33% and 19.9% respectively.