Capability of Biowaste Composite of High Density Polythene with Egg Shell and Wood Sawdust for Sorption of Heavy Metals in Industrial Waste Water

The health hazards posed by heavy metals in water and the need to mitigate the hazards have attracted a flurry of research interests on the technologies and methods of removing them from water. The industrial waste water from a gutter within the neighbourhood of the Delta Shopping Mall in Effurun was used to test the heavy metal sorption capacity of the waste high density polythene and biowaste composites compounded by the author using a locally constructed extruder. Some of the physico – chemical properties of the waste water determined with P^H Kent meter (model 7020) and Hach conductivity meter (C0150) where within WHO acceptable limits while some were not. The metal concentrations were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrometer(Perkin Elmer Absorption Analyst 400 model) The Composite of 2:1.5:0.5 (HDPE: saw dust: egg shell) sorbed the highest concentration of the metals ( 0.168mg/L, Fe; 0.072mg/L, Ni and 0.082mg/L, Cr than the other composites of 1.5: 1: 1.5 and 2:1:1 except Cd while the composite, 2:1:1 sorbed the least concentration of metals( 0.061mg/L, Fe; 0.044mg/L, Ni; 0.071mg/L, Cr and 0.002mg/L, Cd during the first 24 hours of sorption exposure. Chromium was the most sorbed metal, 97.6% while cadmium was the least, 20.0%. There was no systematic pattern of variation for metal absorption in the next 24 hours due probably to the blocking of the pore sites during the first twenty four hours of sorption exposure. The composite, 2:1.5:0.5 exhibited a good potential as an economic heavy metal sorbent.