Abstract:
The issue of carwash wastewater emerges as a pressing environmental concern on a global scale, primarily due to
the intricate nature of its pollutants, which makes effective treatment a formidable challenge. In the face of this
complex scenario, the pursuit of an efficient treatment methodology assumes paramount importance. In response
to this complex scenario, this study embarked on an exploration of a novel polymeric adsorbent material synthesized from Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-67, Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-8, Polyethersulfone, and
graphene oxide in a fixed-bed treatment system for carwash wastewater. The investigation encompassed three
distinct filter column depths, measuring 8 cm, 12 cm, and 16 cm, respectively. With an increase in filter depth
from 8 cm to 16 cm, notable improvements were observed in the removal efficiencies for most contaminants.
Notably, oils/grease removal showed an increasing trend with column depth, reaching 95.4%, 98.6%, and 100%
for 8 cm, 12 cm, and 16 cm depths, respectively. TSS and Turbidity removal efficiencies remained consistently
high at 100% across all depths, showcasing effective removal of solid particulate matter. Copper and Zinc
removal efficiencies increased with deeper column depths, reaching values of 80.4%–89.9% and 79.6%–90.3%,
respectively. Surfactants exhibited efficient removal, with values ranging from 90.6% to 96.6%. Total Dissolved
Solids removal efficiency increased from 71.6% to 83.4% as column depth increased. Similarly, Chemical Oxygen
Demand, Biochemical Oxygen Demand, total organic carbon, and phosphates removal efficiencies showed
improvement with increasing column depth, reaching values of 95.4%, 98.3%, 98.8%, and 89.3%, respectively.
Moreover, The composite MOF beads demonstrated significant adsorption capacities in carwash wastewater
treatment, with a noteworthy 35.08 mg/g for Oils/Grease and 28.12 mg/g for Biochemical Oxygen Demand,
highlighting their efficiency in removing hydrophobic contaminants and organic pollutants.The derived results
highlight the potential of the composite material for carwash wastewater treatment towards advancing the field
of wastewater treatment.
