REMOVAL OF IRON FROM GROUND WATER BY USING HEART WOOD CHARCOAL OF Areca catechu

The adsorption characteristics of iron using heartwood charcoal of Areca catechu, a low-cost natural adsorbent were studied in the laboratory scale using real-life sample. The studies were conducted by batch experiment. HCAC was found to be an efficient adsorbent for iron removal from the groundwater collected from iron affected area. Groundwater collected from tube well was used for the study. The initial concentration of iron in the sample was 1.52 mg/l. Under optimized conditions the HCAC could remove up to 98% of total iron. The optimum adsorbent dose was 0.5 mg/l and the equilibrium time was 30 min. Isotherm studies shows that the process is favorable and spontaneous. The kinetics showed that the removal of iron by HCAC is a pseudo-second-order reaction.