M^Ittt of $I)Tlos!Opfip in CHEMISTRY
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PHYSICO-CHEMICAL STUDIES ON HEAVY METALS IN INDUSTRIAL WASTES AND RIVER WATER DISSERTATION FOR M^ittt of $I)tlos!opfip IN CHEMISTRY BY RUBINA CHAUDHARY DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH (INDIA) 1989 DS1531 /^: F-HJ-VES I CO'—CHEIM I C(=%L- OT'LJFJ T. ESS ON HEZi^SW METi^^LS I hJ I hJDLJSTR:: I s^^il W#=IISTIE:S (=mMO RIVER: WftTEFi A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMINTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY IN CHEMISTRY RUBINA CHAUDHARY Department of Chemistry Aligarh Muslim University ALIGARH 1989 rnone : unice : t)U4Z Z. H. College of Engineering & Technology DEPARTMENT OF APPLIED CHEMISTRY Aligarh Muslim University ALIGARH—202002 (INDIA) Ref. No. Dated CERTIFICATE This is to certify that the work des cribed in this dissertation is the original work of Miss Rubina Chaudhary, carried out under my supervision and guidance. She has fulfilled all the requirements for the award of M.Phil, degree under the Academic Ordinaces of the Aligarh Muslim University, Aligerh. The work included in this disser tation has not been submitted elsewhere. 6.11.1989 PROF. MOHAMI^AD AsJl-'-y' ^ Supervisor ACKNOWLEDGEME Hr I am extremely grateful to my Supervisor Professor Mohansnad Ajmal for his guidance/ advice and personal interest during the course of this work, without whose sympathetic and inspiring attitude, timely assistance and affectionate encouragement this work would not have emerged in its present form. My thanks are also due to Prof. K.T.Nasim, Chairman, Department of Applied Chemistry, Z.H. College of Engineering & Technology, Allgarh Muslim university, Aligarh, for providing necessary facilities. I am grateful to Professor R.H.Siddiqui, Department of Civil Engineering, AMU, Aligarh, who provided instrumentation facilities in his Department. Special thanks are due to Mr. Adil H.Jafri, Deputy Manager, National Newsprint, Pulp and Paper Mills, Nepanagar (M.P.), for providing material and morale for this study. I am also thankful to my senior collea gues, lab. colleagues and friends for their help, discussion and encouragement, I am grateful to Mr. Mashhood Alam Raz who typed the manuscript, and my parents and brothers for their moral support. The financial assistance provided by the Department of Environment, New Delhi, is grate fully acknowledged. RUBINA CHAUDHARY ii CONTENTS List of Tables GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1 Man and Environment 1 Water Pollution 1. Heavy Metals and Their Health Hazards 11 1.1 Arsenic 12 1.2 Cadmium 13 1.3 Chromium 14 1.4 Zinc 14 1.5 Manganese 15 1.6 Mercury 15 1.7 Iron 16 1.8 Copper 16 1.9 Lead 17 1.10 Nickel 18 2. The Sources of Metal Pollution 18 2.1 Geological Weathering 18 2.2 Mining Effluents ... 19 20 2.3 Industrial Effluents 23 2.4 Domestic Effluents 23 2.5 Urban Storm Water Runoff 24 2.6 Atmospheric Sources Chapter I SURVEY OF LITERATURE 25 1. Industrial Waste 25 2. Heavy Metal Pollution in Rivers 31 Chapter II MATERIALS AND METHODS 41 1. Collection of Waste Samples ... 41 2. Collection of River water 41 ill 3, Preservation of samples 41 Physico-chemical Analysis 42 Analysis of Heavy Metals 42 Chapter III PHYSICO-CHEMICAL STUDIES ON THE PULP-PAPER MILL WASTE AND EFFLUENT AFTER TREATMENT ... 44 The Factory ... 46 1. Bamboo Sulphate/Kraft Mills ... 47 2. Ground wood process 48 3. Cold Soda Chemi-Mecha- nical Process 48 4. Caustic Chlorine Plant 49 5. Effluent Treatment Plant 50 Results and Discussion 50 Chapter IV PHYSICO-CHEMICAL STUDIES ON GANG A WATER (INDIA) 59 Introduction 59 Results and Discussion 61 REFERENCES 77 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Toxic Chemicals in Effluents from Selected Industries 5 2 Characteristics of Industrial Effluents 6 3 Estimated Industrial Water Use 9 4 Metals in Industrial Waste Water 21 5 Physico-chemical Characteristics of Pulp-Paper Mill Waste and Effluent After Treatment 56 6 Concentration of Heavy Metal in the Pulp-Paper Mill Waste and , Effluent After Treatment (rogl~ ) 58 7 Location of Basic Stations 70 8 Physico-chemical Characteristics of Ganges River Water at Various Stations (1987-1988), 71 9 Concentration of Heavy Metals in the Water of Ganga river (Aigl-^) (1987-1988). 75 GENERAL INTRODUCTION In nearly every corner of the globe man is making increasing demands upon his surroundings and thereby altering his own natural environment and that of the other organisms living with him on the earth. So it is difficult to define environmental pollution and its definition may change not only from country to country but also from area to area within the same country. MAN AND ENVIRONMENT The relationship of man with the environment is necessarily symbiotic; the equilibrium between the two must be maintained at all costs. The demands are increasing not only because of the rapid growth of human population but also due to the increase in the standard of living. Acquisition of knowledge about Science and technologies and their application in meeting the ever-increasing needs of man has not left any part of the biosphere untouched, making his own survival precarious. Extensive modifications of the environment have been caused by shifting millions of tonnes of material from one place to another, converting them to less degradable forms or into substances that are positively harmful to living beings. For example hundreds of millions of tonnes of minerals, fuels and other toxic materials are being dug out from the interior of the earth every year and thrown on the earth's surface in one form or the other. Another fact is that this planet has become over-populated. With increasing population, more and more demands are being made on the limited sources of energy and materials. The capacity of the environment to support the increasing demands of man is limited. The environment performs three basic functions in relation to man. Firstly it provides living space and other amenities that make life qualitatively rich for man. Secondly the environment is a source of agricultural, mineral, water and other resources that are consumed directly or indirectly. Thirdly the environment is a sink where all the waste produced by man is assimilated. It is essential that the capacity of the environment to perform these functions is not impaired^which explains our general concern for it. It is important, therefore, that due to stresses imposed on the environment, the rate of exploitation of resources does not exceed nature's capacity to reproduce them, or that the amount of chemical and industrial effluents do not exceed the assimilative capacity of nature. Rapid population growth, unplanned towns and random growth of industry are common features of any developing country. Whereas slums, chimneys emitting poisonous gases and deafening noise fall to the lot of city dweller, soil contamination and river and s\ib-soil water pollution due to the use of fertilizers and pesticides are quite common in villages and small towns. Today, fortunately, all sections of society are aware of the problem of environmental pollution. There is a growing need to tackle the problem through a variety of measures, such as legal, scientific, technical, economic and educational. The word pollution is derived from the Latin word "pollutus" which means uncleanliness or impurity caused by contamination. Broadly environmental pollution comprises: (a) Water pollution (b) Air pollution (c) Land pollution (d) Noise pollution Water Pollution - Water is one of the most essential constituents of the hxoman environment. Man needs it in the first place for his physiological existence. Just as every other living organism does, and secondly for many other purposes such as industrial water supply, irrigation/ propagation of fish and other aquatic life, generation of power, etc. Water pollution occurs due to the presence of dissolved inorganic materials, organic materials, such as proteins, fats, carbohydrates and other substances found in domestic and industrial waters, and physical factor such as turbidity, colour, temperature of effluents, associated radio-activity, etc. Alkalis, acids, inorganic salts and other chemicals formed during processing lead to inorganic pollution. Besides being the cause of corrosion of metals these chemicals are toxic to aquatic life and the organisms responsible for self purification of streams into which the liquid effluents are thrown. Industries like paper and pulp, tanneries, textiles and electroplating are among many others which discharge these chemicals into the watercourses (Tables 1 and 2) . Inorganic chemicals such as free chlorine, ammonia, hydrogen sulphide and other sulphides, salts of metals like Cr, Ni, Zn, Cd, Cu, Ag, etc. are usually found in metal-plating liquid wastes, alkali producing units, polyvinyl chloride, coke-oven and fertilizer industries. Pharmaceutical industries also produce large quantities Table 1 Toxic Chemicals in Effluents from Selected Industries Industry Toxic Pollutants 1. Electroplating Cyanide and heavy metals like Cr(VI), Zn, Cd, Cu, Ni, etc. 2. Metallurgical Heavy metals like Cu, Cd, Zn 3. Caustic chlorine Mercury 4. Fertilizer Ammonia^ arsenic, chromium 5. Metallurgical coke Phenols, cyanide, thiocyanide and ammonia. 6. Resin Phenol formaldehyde Cyanide, acrylo- and aceto- 7. Synthetic wool nltrite. BHC, DDT, 2,4-D Malathion, 8. pesticides Palathion, etc. Coloured bodies, oxalic acid, 9. Dyes and Pigments heavy metals like Pb, Zn, Cu Phenols, specific toxic 10. Petro-chemicals chemicals not recovered during processing. Table 2 Characteristics of Industrial Effluents Nature of Pollutants Type of Industry in Raw waste 1. Distilleries Low pH, high orgai^ic contents i.e., BOD, colour and disso lved solids. 2. Tanneries High organic content (BOD), high salt content, deep colour, high concentration of precipitable calcium content. 3. Textiles a) Cotton High pH, sodium content, organic matter and colour. b) Synthetic Low pH, high dissolved solids content and toxic organics. 4. Pulp and Paper Mills a) Pulp mills High pH, deep colour, some dissolved and suspended organics, high suspended inorganics, and large volume of waste.