Food waste materials appear efficient and low-cost adsorbents for the removal of organic and inorganic pollutants from wastewater

In recent studies, the adsorption capacity of several food waste materials has been assessed by performing adsorption experiments in heterogeneous operating conditions. In a latest study, the efficiency of such food waste materials for the removal of metals and metalloids from complex multi-element solutions was evaluated in homogeneous experimental conditions, which allowed comparing the adsorption capacities of the individual adsorbents. Considering the high efficiency of the examined low-cost adsorbents for the removal of inorganic pollutants, preliminary studies were conducted in our lab for assessing the potential of the investigated food waste materials to adsorb volatile organic compounds from a real polluted matrix of leachate. Some recent studies have shown the efficiency of low cost materials for the removal of industrial organic dyes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and phenolic compounds. However, the food waste adsorbents’ efficiency for the removal of volatile organic compounds was not investigated. Our preliminary studies showed good adsorption capacities of the examined food waste materials for aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons. Therefore, it is worth to carry out further studies about volatile organic compounds’ removal by food waste adsorbents.