Ricerc@Sapienza

Uncoated and nano iron-based coated biomass were employed as packing material in lab-scale and large-lab-scale columns for the removal of Cr(VI) from synthetic wastewaters. A remarkable Cr(VI) removal efficiency (up to about 65%) was observed in large-lab-scale configuration, thus allowing to treat notable amounts of effluents volumes (30–70 L, basing on the inlet flow-rate) at fixed bed height of 38 cm and a sorbent mass of 850 g and 790 g of uncoated and coated material, respectively.

Natural and waste waters pollution by nitrates is considered a major environmental problemdue to the possible consequences on human health and on water bodies through eutrophi-cation phenomenon. Hazelnut shell were employed as packing material in a large lab-scalecolumn for the removal of nitrate from wastewaters, comparing the process performanceswith those obtained in batch system. A nitrate removal efficiency up to about 67% wasobserved in batch mode at low pH and with a sorbent mass concentration of 8 g/L with0.5 mm size.