Characterisation and removal of heavy metals in tannery effluents through the use of local materials

Abstract: Chromium and other heavy metals are known to cause issues related to human and environmental health when they occur in high concentrations in ecosystems. Chromium poses a particularly large threat if it occurs in its hexavalent form, Cr(VI), as it is highly reactive and carcinogenic. The aim of this project was to investigate the wastewater emitted from a tannery in Liwonde, Malawi, with respect to the metals Cr, Al, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn, and to reduce the concentrations using locally available materials. A particular emphasis was put on chromium.   Wastewater collected from the tannery was analysed to determine the total and dissolved concentrations of the metals using a Microwave Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometer (MP-AES). The wastewater was then mixed with various dosages of peeled and unpeeled Moringa Oleifera seed powder as well as pure Moringa Oleifera shell powder and sand collected from river Shire. Thereafter, the remaining concentrations of metals were analysed. Additional analyses of various contact times were performed for the removal agent that had shown the best results.     The analyses showed a total chromium concentration of 2.25 ppm and a dissolved chromium concentration of 0.251 ppm in the wastewater discharged from the tannery. Both concentrations were lower than what had initially been expected but still above both the WHO guideline value for chromium in drinking water and the Swedish threshold value for chromium in industrial wastewater (0.05 ppm). No other metals were found in concentrations above trace levels. All of the investigated removal agents, except for pure shell powder, showed positive results for chromium removal. The highest removal observed for dissolved chromium was 72 % and occurred with a removal agent mixture of 5.0 g of river sand and 2.0 g of unpeeled Moringa Oleifera seed powder to 100 mL of wastewater. The reduction of total chromium was 97 % for the same removal agent mixture. However, lower dosages of the removal agents also gave a chromium removal of similar size. Due to resource limitations, no analysis of whether the wastewater contained Cr(III) and Cr(VI) could be performed.   Considering the low initial concentrations of metals emitted from the tannery, there is no urgent need for further treatment of the wastewater. This study has however substantiated the theory that Moringa Oleifera seeds can be used as a low-cost chromium remediation agent in wastewater, a result that can be of use to improve the water quality in other industries and applications.