Application of diatomite for gallic acid removal from molasses wastewater

Xiaorong Song; Chenglin Li; Zhihui Chai; Yuan Zhu; Yuling Yang; Manyi Chen; Ruijia Ma; Xinquan Liang; Junhua Wu

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142711

Application of diatomite for gallic acid removal from molasses wastewater

Sci Total Environ. 2021 Apr 15:765:142711. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142711. Epub 2020 Oct 12.

Authors

Xiaorong Song¹, Chenglin Li¹, Zhihui Chai¹, Yuan Zhu¹, Yuling Yang¹, Manyi Chen¹, Ruijia Ma¹, Xinquan Liang², Junhua Wu³

Affiliations

¹ College of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Guangxi University, Guangxi 530004, PR China.
² College of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Guangxi University, Guangxi 530004, PR China. Electronic address: lxq10713@163.com.
³ Guangxi Academy of Sciences, Guangxi 530004, PR China. Electronic address: xxwjh@sina.com.

PMID: 33189386
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142711

Abstract

In this study, diatomite was refined by a simple purification method consisting of calcination combined with acid washing. Optimal purification conditions were the focus, including the influence of conditions on diatomite morphology, structure, and specific surface area. The results showed that the optimal conditions were a 550 °C carbonization temperature and 25 wt% HCl. This purified diatomite was then employed to adsorb gallic acid (GA) from molasses wastewater in a series of adsorption experiments, which illustrated that (ḭ) GA adsorption fitted a pseudo-second-order model and the Freundlich equation better with GA adsorption by purified diatomite; (ḭḭ) the adsorption process was physical, nonspontaneous, and endothermic; (ḭḭḭ) the maximum GA adsorption capacity by purified diatomite was 19.852 mg g^-1. This study reported the examination of a promising material for sugar mill wastewater pretreatment.

Keywords: Adsorption; Diatomite; Gallic acid; Molasses wastewater; Purification.