Investigation of the wastewater treatment capacity after the mineral exploitation by using africutural wastes sugar cane bagasse peanut shells and coconut fibers

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF AGRCULTURE AND FORESTRY TRAN THI NHU INVESTIGATION OF THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT CAPACITY AFTER THE MINERAL EXPLOITATION BY USING AGRICULTURAL WASTES

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY OF AGRCULTURE AND FORESTRY

TRAN THI NHU

INVESTIGATION OF THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT CAPACITY AFTER THE MINERAL EXPLOITATION BY USING AGRICULTURAL WASTES (SUGAR-CANE

BAGASSE, PEANUT SHELLS AND COCONUT FIBERS)

BACHELOR THESIS

Study Mode: Full-time

Major: Environmental Science and Management

Faculty: International Training and Development Center

Batch: 2012-2016

DOCUMENTATION PAGE WITH ABSTRACT

Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry

Degree Program Bachelor of Environment Science and Management

Student name Tran Thi Nhu

Student ID DTN1253080006

Thesis Title Investigation of the wastewater treatment capacity after the

mineral exploitation by using agricultural wastes cane bagasse, peanut shells and coconut fibers)

(sugar-Supervisor (s) Assoc.Prof Dam Xuan Van, Thai Nguyen University of

Agriculture and Forestry

ABSTRACT

This research used agricultural wastes (sugar-cane bagasse, peanut shells and coconut fibers) as a low cost materials in order to remove the heavy metal in the wastewater after the mineral exploitation and in laboratory water which was mixed with a fix concentration of heavy metals (500 mg/l and 1000 mg/l) The results showed that sugar-cane bagasse, peanut shells and coconut fibers have a very well heavy metals adsorption capacity When the amount of adsorption materials increases, the adsorption capacity of Cu, Pb also increases immediatetly For example, with sugar-cane bagasse, the ability to absorb heavy metals is highest when sugar-cane bagasse entered is 900g, sugar-cane bagasse can absorb about 71.452% (Treatment 3 Pb F3Pb with the amount of sugar-cane bagasse is 900g), it increases about 1.66 times compared with the amount of Pb that it absorbed in treatment 1 Pb ( F1Pb with the amount of sugar-cane bagasse is 300g) Similarly, the highest amount of peanut sheels

and coconut fibers to absorb the heavy metals is 900g and declining due to reducing the amount of peanut shells and coconut fibers

The heavy metals adsorption productivity achieved 30%-80% by comparing with the initial concentration It is concluded that agricutural wastes can remove heavy metals (Pb, Cu)in the wastewater, coconut fibers showed the best heavy metals absorption capacity followed by sugar-cane bagasse and peanut shells

Keywords 1 Sugar-cane bagasse

2 Peanut shells

3 Coconut fibers

4 Water pollution

5 Heavy metals Numbers of Pages 44

Date of Submission September , 2016

Supervisor’s signature

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

From bottom of my heart, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to all those who provided me the opportunity to complete this research

First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude and special thanks

to School Leadership and teachers at International Training and Development Center - Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry those imparted for me the knowledge

as well as facilitating learning and help me during the learning process in schools In particularly, Iwould like to express my sincere gratitude and deep regards tomy

supervisorAssoc.Prof.Dam Xuan Vanin Faculty of Management Resources - who

took time out to hear, guide, support and encourage me on the correct path and allowing me to carry out my study to have successful results Especially, hispriceless advices are not a small contributein orienting my careers and future

Besides my supervisors, I would like to thank Dr Tran Thi Pha in Faculty of Environment, who gave the permission to use all required equipment and the necessary materials to conduct my reseach in Laboratory of Environment Resources Especially, I would like to thanks for her advice, encouragement and guidance during

my thesis

Moreover, Ialso want toexpress my thanks to the Faculty of Environmentfor helping and providing me a good laboratory with modern equipment and good infrastructure that plays an important part in the success of my thesis

I would also like to thanks to Do Minh Hong, Do Manh Dung, Nguyen Thi Van, Nguyen Vu Tuan Anh – my classmates, who provided their ongoing support, questions and suggestions

Last but not least, I would like to express my love and gratitude to my beloved parents for their support and endles love

I would like to sincerely thank!

Thai Nguyen, September , 2016

Sincerely,

Tran Thi Nhu

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of figures viii

List of tables ix

List of appreviations x

PART I INTRODUCTION 1

1.1.Research rationale 1

1.2.Research objectives 3

1.3.Research question and hypotheses 3

1.4 Limitations 4

PART II LITERATURE REVIEW 5

2.1 Overview of heavy metal 5

2.1.1 Definition and sources of heavy metals 5

2.1.2 Characteristics of heavy metals 5

2.2 Overview of Agricultural wastes 6

2.2.1 Sugar-cane bagasse 6

2.2.2 Peanut peels 7

2.2.3 Coconut fibers 8

2.3 The characteristics of heavy metal that related to the study 10

2.3.1 Characteristics of Copper (Cu) 10

2.3.2 Characteristics of Lead (Pb) 11

2.4 Researches on heavy metals adsorption capacity 13

2.4.1 Research situation in Vietnam 13

PART III MATERIALS AND METHODS 16

3.1 Subjects 16

3.2 Research location and study period 16

3.3 Research Contents 16

3.4 Materials 17

3.4.1 Chemicals 17

3.4.2.Agricultural wastes 17

3.4.3.Instruments 19

3.5 Methods 20

3.5.1 Collecting secondary data 20

3.5.2 Collecting water samples, agricultural wastes samples 20

3.5.3 Experiments 21

3.5.4 Analytical method in laboratory 25

3.5.5 Data analyst 26

3.6 Target tracking 26

PART IV RESULTS 27

4.1.Assessing the heavy metal adsorption capacity of agricultural wastes in water which is mixed with a certain concentration of heavy metals (500 mg/l and 1000 mg/l) 27

4.1.1 Assessing the ability to absorb heavy metals (HM) in the wastewater of sugar-cane bagasse 27

4.1.2 Assessing the ability to absorb heavy metals (HM) in the wastewater of peanut shells……… 29

4.1.3 Assessing the ability to absorb heavy metals (HM) in the wastewater of coconut fibers 31

4.2.Assessing the Heavy metal adsorption capacity in wastewater by using agricultural waste in the mining area of Lead, Zinc in Hich Village, Tan Long commune, Thai

Nguyen province 32

4.2.1.Assessing the heavymetal concentration contained in wastewater in the mining area of Lead and Zinc in Hich Village in Tan Long commune, Dong Hy district, Thai Nguyen Province 33

4.2.2.Assessing the ability to absorb heavy metals (HM) in the wastewater of agricultural wastes 33

PART V DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 37

5.1 Discussion 37

5.2.Conclusion 38

REFERENCES 40

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 3.1 Sugar-cane bagasse 17

Figure 3.2 Peanut shells 18

Figure 3.3 Coconut fibers 18

Figure 3.4 Atomic Adsorption Spectroscopy machine 19

Figure 3.5 Electronic weight scale 4 number Presica XT 120A 19

Figure 4.1 The ability to absorb Heavy Metal of sugar-cane bagasse with the concentration of Saline solution entered in water is 500 mg/l 28

Figure 4.2 The ability to absorb Heavy Metal ofsugar-cane bagasse with the concentration of Saline solution entered in water is 1000 mg/l 28

Figure 4.3 The ability to absorb Heavy Metal of peanut peels with the concentration of Saline solution entered in water is 500 mg/l 30

Figure 4.4 The ability to absorb Heavy Metal of peanut peels with the concentration of Saline solution entered in water is 1000 mg/l 30

Figure 4.5 The ability to absorb Heavy Metal of coconut fibers with the concentration of Saline solution entered in water is 500 mg/l 32

Figure 4.6 The ability to absorb Heavy Metal of coconut fibers with the concentration of Saline solution entered in water is 1000 mg/l 32

Figure 4.7 The ability to absorb HM of sugar-cane bagasse with different contents 35

Figure 4.8 The ability to absorb HM of peanut shells with different contents 36

Figure 4.9 The ability to absorb HM of coconut fibers with different contents 36

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1: The time for taking the water samples 20

Table 4.1: The ability for adsorbing the HM of sugar-cane bagasse 27

Table 4.2: The ability for adsorbing the HM of peanut shells 28

Table 4.3: The ability for adsorbing the HM of Coconut fibers 31

Table 4.4 The concentration (mg/l) of heavy metal in wastewater after the mineral exploitation in the mining area of Lead, Zinc in Hich Village 33

Table 4.5 The ability to absorb HM Pb in wastewater after the mineral exploitation of sugar-cane bagasse, peanut shells and coconut fibers 34

MONRE Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

ISO International Organization for Standard

WHO World Health Organization

PART I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Research rationale

Nowadays, Environmental pollution is one of the biggest problems that the world arefacing It has brought an enormous affect to human’s life and other organisms Within the general context of world pollution, water environment in Vietnam is also severely degraded; especially water environment is becoming increasingly serious Most of the earth’s surface is covered by water; most of human’sbody arecomposed of water These are two facts illustrating the critical linkages between water, health and ecosystems It can be seen that, water is the most essential compound on the earth for human activities Providing clean water is the prime requirement of the human being for their better health Since the fast growing sector of industries, expansion of population, and urbanization have a large contributed

to the severe contamination of water Chemicals and fertilizers use in domestic and agricultural activities leads to the lifetime threatening diseases Intense use of heavy metals in industries for dyeing, paint, etc is becoming one of the most serious environmental problems globally Its presence in low concentration of heavy metals in various water resources could be harmful to human health and all the organisms in the aquatic environment The treatment of heavy metals is very important due to their persistence in the environment Therefore, the study and finding the methods to treat the heavy metal in water environment and contributing to environmental improvement

is urgently needed Besides the raising awareness of human, tightening environmental management, finding methods to remove heavy metal ions, organic compounds toxic

in the aquatic environment have a significant enormous On the world, there were many methods that are used to separate type of heavy metal ions out of the environment such as chemical and physical methods (absorbance method, ion exchange method, etc), biological methods, chemical methods etc, however, the treatment efficiency is not high and the cost is very expensive Therefore, the issues raised arefinding out the methods which can adsorb the heavy metal in water that is effective, and easy to implement, low cost and friendly with environment The effective removal of heavy metals from aqueous wastes is among the most important issues for many industrialized countries Rapid industrialization and poor effluent treatment processes in many industries have led to a substantial lowering of water quality that is fed to water bodies Presence of heavy metals is one of the many factors that lower water quality These heavy metals cause harmful effects on health, increase environmental toxicity and affect to the aesthetic quality of water The levels of heavy metals in water system have substantially increased over time with rapid development

of industrial activities (J Nouri et al., 2006) In recent years the adsorption process has been recognized as an effective and economic method for the removal of heavy metals from wastewaters as it offers flexibility in design and operation so as to produce high quality treated effluents of desired standards for disposal

The application of agricultural products and by-products has been widely investigated as an alternative for costly methods of removing heavy metals from water and wastewater This paper reviews the current methods to explore low cost adsorbents and their utilization techniques for various agro and horticultural waste by-products like sugar-cane bagasse, peanut shells and coconut fibers The advantage of

this method is going from inexpensive raw materials, availability, simple process, the cost of handling is low, simultaneous separation many type of metal in the solution, and recovery of metals and no added the toxic agents to environment Specifically, sugar-cane bagasse, coconut fibers, peanut shells are popular materials in Vietnam with annual output of very large Stemming from the above reality and expectations of myself, under the advisor of Assoc.Prof.Dam Xuan Van, I conducted my thesis:

“Investigation of the wastewater treatment capacity after the mineral exploitation by

using the agricultural wastes (sugar-cane bagasse, peanut shells and coconut fibers)”

1.2 Research’s objectives

The primary objective of this study is removing the heavy metal in wastewater

by using the agricultural by-products In order to meet the main objective of the study, the following specific objectives are adopted:

(a) Finding a safe method and low cost adsorbents for various agro and horticultural waste by-products which could adsorb heavy metal in wastewater

(b) Investigation of the factor affecting to the absorption of heavy metal in water of agricultural products and by-products such as: time, metal concentration

(c) Giving the application for the use of wastewater after conducting experiments

1.3 Research question and hypotheses

With many advantages in the environmental fields, the application of agricultural wastes in wastewater treatment capacity is a good effective measure to

remove the heavy metals And this scientific research will seek to answer the central research questions:

(a) Which kind of agricultural wastes have the best ability to adsorb the heavy metal in the wastewater?

(b) How to investigate the heavy metal adsorption capacity of agricultural wastes?

(c) Which kinds of heavy metal that agriculturalwastes can adsorb?

1.4 Limitations

Because the thesis training time was too short, this research project cannot perform many other experiments and estimate deeply about the factor affecting to the absorption of heavy metal in wastewater by using Agricultural wastessuch as: pH, time and metal concentration

PART II.LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1.Overview of heavy metals

2.1.1 Definition and sources of heavy metals

The original of the term “heavy metals” is not clear An early use dates from

1817, when Gmelin divided the elements into nonmetals, light metals and heavy metals (Habashi,2009) Light metals had densities of 0.860 – 5.0 gm/cm3; the density

of heavy metals is 5.308 – 22.000gm/cm3 (Gmelin, 1849) Heavy metals are divided into three types: toxic metals (Hg, Cr, Pb, Zn, Cu, Ni, Cd, As, Co, Sn, etc), precious metals (Pd, Pt, Au, Ag, Ru, etc.), and radioactive metals (U, Th, Ra, Am, etc.) The proportion of these metals is usually greater than 5 g/cm3(Bishop, 2002)

Heavy metals are found naturally in the earth, which become concentrated as a result of human caused activities Common sources are from mining and industrial wastes; vehicle emissions; lead-acid batteries; fertilizers, paints and treated woods Lead is the most prevalent heavy metals contaminant

2.1.2 Characteristics of heavy metals

Heavy metals are not biodegradable (Tam & Wong, 1996) and no toxic in the form of elements, but they are very dangerous to living organisms when they are in the form of cations due to its linkage capacity with short carbon chain, which leads to the accumulation in the organism after several years For humans, appropriately 12 elements of heavy metals cause toxic such as lead, copper, nickel, etc Some heavy metals are found in the body and essential for human health, such as iron, zinc, magnesium, cobalt, copper, although the amount is very small but it presents in metabolism However, at excess level of the essential elements it can endanger the life

of the organism (Foulkes, 2000) The remaining metal elements are unnecessary elements and can be highly toxic when it occur t in the body; however, the toxic only present when they enter the food chain These elements include mercury, nickel, lead, copper, etcin the form of metal ion They enter body through the streets of body to absorb as respiratory, gastrointestinal and through the skin If heavy metals enter the body and accumulate inside the cell is greater than the resolution of them, they will increase and the poisoning will appear (Foulkes, 2000) The toxicity of heavy metals is expressed through:

(1)Several heavy metasl can be moved from lower to higher toxicity in the form of some environmental conditions, such as mercury

(2)Toxicity of these elements may be at a very low concentration of about

50% of water, 48 to 49% is fibers (including cellulose and hemicellulose); 1-2% of sugar(Yong-Jea Lee, 2005) With the main elements are cellulose and hemicellulose, sugar-cane bagasse can become well absorbent materials In the world, there were some scientists who was used sugar-cane bagasse as absorbent materials in order to absorb heavy metal in aquatic environment, such as scientists from Brazil, Malaysia,…(Osvaldo et al., 2007; Umesh et al., 2005)

In addition, Sugar-cane bagasse evaluated as the tools for filtering the contaminants from water, especially heavy metal such as:Cu2+, Ni2+ Besides the heavay metal absorption capacity, sugar-cane bagasse also have good ability to absorb oils (Osvaldo, Gurgel et al., 2007) However, through various references, we have learned that sugar-cane bagasse can be used in the process of water purification technology with higher effectiveness and advantages when compared to the methods that have been developed at this time in order to eliminate or reduce heavy metals from water such as: the filtering process, centrifugation filtering, micro and ultra-filtration, crystallization, sedimentation and gravity separation, precipitation, coagulation, electro dialysis oxidation, electrolysis, and adsorption Especially, the sugar-cane bagsse have a high heavy metals adsorption capacity with the metals have the valence 2 such as Pb2+, Cu2+

2.2.2 Peanut peels

Peanuts are grown as a plant; they are a renewable resource (Brown et al., 2000) As a by-product, the hulls are easy and inexpensive to obtain because industries are in need of Peanut hulls are very porous and have low solubility majority of their chemical composition is fiber (60-67%) including cellulose and lignin Peanut hulls

are the components that contain cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin, lignin, and protein, making them a good candidate for use in wastewater treatment (Kumar, 2006) The structures of these compounds have functional groups that invite metal ion exchange and metal chelation

Chemical modification of the hulls will help determine the type of binding involved in the adsorption process Differences in adsorption among different treatments may indicate the chemical nature of the binding interaction The pretreatment to be performed in this study is the alkaline oxidation/delignification of the hulls The biopolymers contain a variety of functional groups, such as alcohol groups, which can be chemically altered to possibly enhance the adsorption of metal ions Oxidation of the hulls involves oxidizing the alcohol groups of the cellulose into carboxylate groups, which would create a cationic exchanger for the metal ions, increasing adsorption The newly formed carboxylate groups exchange cations, meaning the countering (Na in this case) leaves the carboxylate group and the metal ion in solution attaches in its place as shown in the reaction scheme below (Shukla et al., 2005; Öztürk, 2009; Nevell, 1985)

2 RCOONa + Cu2+—> (RCOO)2Cu + 2 Na+This modification has been tested in previous studies on adsorbents composed

of mainly cellulose and lignin, such as jute fibers, resulting in enhanced effectiveness

of metal ion adsorption

2.2.3 Coconut fibers

The coconut can be found across much of the tropical and subtropical area, it is known for its great versatility as seen in any domestic, commercial and industrial uses

of its different parts Coconut is part of the daily diet of many people It is known as the edible flesh of the coconut; when dried it is called the copra The oil and milk derived from it are commonly used in cooking and frying; coconut oil is also widely used in soaps and cosmetics The clear liquid coconut water within is a refreshing drink and can be processed to create alcohol The husks and leaves can be used as material to make a variety of products for furnishing and decorating, while the coconut fiber dust have been used as raw material for activated carbon industries

Coconut fibers waste is one of the agricultural waste products often used as adsorbent in waste water treatment It’s all year round availability and its abundance in the environment makes it a good source of adsorbent for metal ion removal from aqueous solution It is the light, fluffy material that falls off from the thick monocarp

of coconut fruit when shredded during fiber processing The remarkable properties of fiber dust that enhances its effectiveness as adsorptive/ion exchange capacities include good structural stability, high water absorptivity and high porous nature (Reginald, 1974) Its constituents include ligmin-36.15%, cellulose-33.61%, pentosana-29.27%, ash-0.61%, dry basis (Woodroof, 1979)

The other constituents are kemicelluloses and extractives These extractives contain tannins, pectins, with polyhenolic, carboxyl and hydroxyl groups Ligmins and cellulose in the fiber affords its adsorptive/ion exchange properties The porous structure of the fiber dust allows it to absorb large amount of water but still, remain insoluble very much like any synthetic hydrogel (Armstrong, 2008)

2.3.The characteristics of heavy metal that related to the study

2.3.1 Characteristics of Copper (Cu)

Copper is a widely used material It can be found as contaminant in food This form of contamination emanates from the use of copper material in the packaging of food Despite the essential nature of copper to human life and health, it is potential toxic For instance, continuous inhalation of copper-containing spray is linked with an increase in lung cancer among exposed workers Copper is released into the environment in a number of different ways, it find its way into water streams resulting

in environmental contamination that poses threat to humans, animals and plants This can cause serious and complex problem (Papandreous et al.,2007; Pentari et al.,2009) Like other heavy metals, copper in trace amount is necessary for life processes However, with higher concentrations of this element in the environment and the consequent increase in human intake, copper concentration have reached toxic levels causing various diseases and disorders such as liver damage, Wilson disease and insomnia (Kurniawan et al.,2006)

Importance of Copper (Cu)

Effect on human

Copper is a trace element which is essential to living organisms It is essential for the proper functioning of organs and metabolic processes in humans Ingestion of high concentrations of copper salts is associated with symptoms relating to abdominal pain, headache, nausea, dizziness, vomiting and diarrhea, tachycardia, liver and kidney failure and death These symptoms subside when copper in the drinking water source

adult male with no known genetic susceptibility who consumed 30 – 60 mg/l of copper

as a mineral supplement for 3 years (O’Donohue et al.,1999)

In addition, copper is considered to be one of the elements necessary for human but the accumulation of copper with high concentration can be toxic to the body Cumings (1948) quoted in WHO (1998) discovered copper is actually toxic agents for Wilson patients and discover that the liver and brain of these patients contained metal content is very high

Effect on Aquatic Life

Excess Cu(II) in water may damage marine and freshwater organisms such as fish and mollusks (Van et al., 2005) Fish species vary in their sensitivity to copper, with the LD50 for 96-h exposure to copper sulphate reported to be in the order of 58

mg per liter for Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and 70 mg per liter for catfish (Clarias gerieppinus) (Ezeonyejiaku et al.,2011) The chronic effect of sub-lethal concentrations of Cu(II) on fish and other creatures is demage to gills, liver, kidneys and the nervous system It also interests with the sense of smell in fish, thus preventing them from choosing good mates or finding their way to mating areas (Flemming et al., 1989)

2.3.2 Characteristics of Lead (Pb)

Lead is a bluish-white lustrous metal It is very soft, highly malleable, ductile, and a relatively poor conductor of electricity Lead compounds are widely used in fuel industry, the manufacture of glass, ceramics, painting, medicine.Lead is a typical element for toxicity All compounds that dissolve with this element are poisonous

Source by human activity:

Lead is used in batteries, the battery, in some instruments conductivity Some lead compounds are added in paint, glass, ceramics, such as colorants, stabilizers, binder

The waste products from the application of lead if not recycled properly, when released into the environment will increase the amount of this toxic metal Also some organic lead compounds such as lead tetrametyl or tetraetyl added in gasoline, especially in developing countries

Importance of lead (Pb)

Effect on human

In human body, Pb in the blood associated with erythrocytes and accumulates

in the bone The ability to remove lead from the body is very slowly, primarily in the urine Half-life of lead in the blood is about a month, in bones of 20-30 years The organic lead compounds are sustainable, harmful to humans, can lead to death

The expression of acute lead poisoning, such as headache, irritability, excitability, and many differences expressions related to the nervous system Humans infected long term may lead to memory loss, decreased ability to understand, reduce

IQ, scrambling ability to synthesize hemoglobin can lead to anemia Lead is known to

be the cause of lung cancer, stomach and gliomas Lead poisoning can cause harmful effects on reproductive capacity, miscarriage

Effect on Aquatic Life

Lead can enter water systems through runoff and from sewage and industrial waste streams Elevated levels of lead in the water can cause reproductive damage in

some aquatic life and cause blood and neurological changes in fish and other animals that live there

2.4 Researches on heavy metals adsorption capacity

2.4.1 Research situation in Vietnam

In recent years, heavy metal contamination is bringing an enormous challenge

in the environmental protection in Vietnam During this time, the situation of illegal mining was also widespread in some areas (such as gold mining, coal banditry in Thai Nguyen province and Cao Bang province, etc.) The wastes from mining operations which contains a lot of heavy metal ions such as Pb, Zn, Cd, etc often discharged directly into the environment without treatment and it makes the aquatic environment seriously polluted Heavy metals have a highly toxic, that is the cause of polluting the habitat of animals and plants In the mining processing, water is used with a large volume for most of the production stages Manufacturing processhas caused negative impacts to water production in the mining area

Some of methods have been studied in order to treat the heavy metals such as precipitation, flocculation, ion exchange, membrane filtration, biological etc Each method has a certain applications but it has the disadvantage of creating sludge and high cost Therefore, the application of natural available materials or by utilizing industrial and agricultural wastes to handle heavy metals in the water will bring a large efficiency for economic and the environment Some studies using local resources to handle heavy metals have been made in our country; such as Vetiver grass has special abilities to handle water contamination and it have the ability to quickly absorb heavy metals and other nutrients in the water In addition, it can withstand these substances in

spite of the very high levels Although, the concentrations of these compounds in Vetiver do not high as in some other plants varieties accumulation, it grows very fast and have a high productivity (productivity of dry grass up to 100 tons/ ha /year), Vetiver grass can reduce amounts of nutrients and heavy metals is much greater than most other varieties plants accumulation Fern trees - a tree that grows of wild in Vietnam also has the ability to handle heavy metals in the water Adsorption performance of Pb (II), Cu (II), Cd (II), Zn (II), Ni (II) by ferns is quite high, reaching 99.5% for Pb (II), 84.5% for Cu (II), 87.5% for Cd (II), 73.2% for Zn (II) and 64.6% for Ni (II) in the balance pH and initial concentration of 50 mg / l

Although,nowadays the research and application of natural materials, agricultural waste and industrial waste in order to handle heavy metals in the water in Vietnam is attracting many scientists However, this is the basic research that aims to explore the possibility of handling the heavy metal with environmental friendly materials On the other hand, the potential application of natural materials and agricultural and industrial waste in wastewater treatment that polluted with the heavy metal pollution in Vietnam is huge Therefore, the study of the applicability of agricultural by-products such as: sugar-cane bagasse, coconut fibers, peanut shells to handle heavy metals in wastewater are essential and it have a highly significant for science and practical

2.4.2 Research situation in the world

Currently, the process of mining exploitation is increasingly polluting and has a heavily degradedto aquatic environment and it is an alarming fact The types of environmental pollution at the mining area has been exploited, are very diverse such as

soil contamination, surface water and groundwater pollution The main agents causing pollution are acid, heavy metal, toxic gases

Heavy metals can cause harmful to human life and animal when the concentrations exceed the permitted standards Although, when the concentration of heavy metals below the permitted standards, they can cause to chronic poisoning due

to the accumulation in biological systems

From the past up to the present in the world, heavy metal is treated by many different methods such as chemical precipitation, filtration, electrochemical, adsorption and biological adsorption Adsorption method is used to handle the heavy metals in the wastewater due to the superiority that is a simple design, not arising out

of mud and low investment costs In particularly, the activated carbon has a high and fast adsorption Moreover, the traditional method is also commonly used in heavy metals treatment such as chemical precipitation, but it has the disadvantage of not being thoroughly treated of heavy metals, using chemical agents and creating sludge that contains heavy metals Ion exchange can handle with a high-performance of heavy metal but the price is very expensive Therefore, adsorption method using low-cost materials, environmental friendliness is one of the best solutions with the high economic efficiency Many cheap adsorption materials, environmentally friendly materials such as natural materials, agricultural waste (bagasse, bagasse ash, sawdust, pulp tea, chitosan, biomass, zeolite, seaweed, etc) have been application to the study of heavy metal treatment and achieved the certain results

PART III.MATERIALS AND METHODS 3.1.Subjects

The scope of research:

This study was conducted with the drinking water that was concocted with the certain amount of heavy metals (500 mg/l and 1000 mg/l) and the wastewater that have already polluted with the heavy metals Sampling of wastewater was taken surrounding mining area of zinc-lead in Hich Village in Tan Long, Dong Hy district, Thai Nguyen province

3.2.Research location and study period

Research location: This study was conducted in the laboratory in Faculty of Environment– Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry

Study period:This experiment was done in period of 4 months from March 2016 to June 2016

3.3 Research Contents

Assessing the ability of peanut shells, sugar-cane bagasseand coconut fibers in adsorbing some heavy metal ions

Assessing the possibility to solve heavy metals contamination in water by using peanut shells and sugar-cane bagasse, coconut fibers

3.4.Materials

3.4.1 Chemicals

All the chemicals in this study are used as a receive component without further treatment

Preparing of the Saline solution:

The solution of Cu2+ 1000 mg/l: weight 3.8023 g of Cu(NO3)2.H2O dissolved with distilled water and then fixed to 1000 mg/l

The solution of Pb2+ 1000 mg/l: weight 1.5985 g of Pb(NO3)2 dissolved with distilled water and then fixed to 1000 mg/l

The solution of Cu2+ 500 mg/l: weight 1.4763 g of Cu(NO3)2.H2O dissolved with distilled water and then fixed to 500 mg/l

The solution of Pb2+ 500 mg/l: weight 0.7995 g of Pb(NO3)2 dissolved with distilled water and then fixed to 500 mg/l

3.4.2 Agricultural wastes

Sugar-cane bagasse: