Utilização de cascas de frutas como biossorvente para remoção de poluentes em efluentes sintéticos

Abstract

The environment has been suffering over the years with several problems, and among them, the pollution of the water environment. As we well know the planet is covered by 70% of water, so the lack of it should theoretically be one of the last problems to be faced, but this is not the reality. Heavy metals (literally, since they are denser materials, where their atoms are closer to one another) are harmful to health when consumed in large quantities due to their toxicity. They attract proteins and enzymes preventing their functionality, leading to consequent collapse and complications of human body systems. Although detrimental in high concentrations, the organism needs to be absorbed in small quantities of these metals, as is the case of copper. The disposal of industrial waste (known as effluents) is the main source of contamination of rivers with heavy metals. Contact with these substances, whether through ingestion of contaminated water or fish, can lead to serious problems ranging from a simple copper fever to weakened brain functions caused by the ingestion of mercury. Faced with this problem, we have some existing solutions, one of them the biological adsorption, or biosorption. The biosorption can be defined by a process of retention of the heavy metals through biologically derived solids or their derivatives. This paper proposes the use of biosorption as an alternative to the treatment of effluents, carrying out a project that, even in a small scale, can assist in the R & D of this scientific area. It is concluded that the biosorption process by fruit peels for the removal of synthetic pollutants was successful in improving the quality of the water and removing at a rate of approximately 30% the effluents present in synthetic form (Sulfate copper).