A study of boron adsorption onto activated sludge

Boron adsorption onto activated sludge was investigated using bench-scale reactors under simulated wastewater treatment conditions. Two experiments, continuous flow and batch, were performed. Boron concentrations were determined by means of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The results of the continuous-flow experiment indicated that a small amount of boron accumulated on the activated sludge and its concentration in the sludge depended on the nature of the biota in the sludge. Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm plots generated using the data from the batch experiment indicated that boron was adsorbed onto rather than absorbed into the sludge. The Freundlich constants, k and 1/n, were determined to be 26 mg/kg and 0.87. These values indicate that activated sludge has a limited capacity for boron adsorption and thus utilization of the excess sludge for farmland may not be toxic to plant at least boron concern.