Hydroxyapatite (HA) for wastewater treatment

These days, water contamination caused by heavy metals is becoming a serious problem. Adding an adsorbent into the contaminated water is the effective method in decreasing the concentration of heavy metals. Hydroxyapatite (HA) is one of the promising adsorbent for heavy metals. In this study, HA powder was extracted from compact part of bovine bone and formed into a disc shape. Wastewater containing of heavy metals was obtained from the waste of electropolishing process of stainless steel. FTIR was used to analyze the performance of HA in adsorbing heavy metals. FTIR measurement shows that HA disc has a capability in adsorbing heavy metals from the contaminated water.