Adsorption Properties of Blast Furnace Slag and Construction Debris for Wastewater Treatment in Biofilters

Bc. Joel Alexander Moses

Master's thesis

Abstract:

Environmental and human health face major challenges because of rising levels of wastewater nutrients and organic micropollutants. This research evaluates blast furnace slag (UHK) and construction debris (SRC) as affordable sorbents to remove phosphate, ammonium, nitrate, metoprolol, and benzotriazole from wastewater. Spectrophotometry, ion chromatography, UV-Vis spectrometry, TOC analysis, and LC-MS/MS were used to analyze equilibrium concentrations from batch sorption experiments that used different material dosages. The materials underwent physicochemical analysis to determine pH values and point of zero charge (PZC) and elemental composition for a better understanding of their adsorption properties. The high removal efficiency of UHK was observed mainly through its ability to remove phosphate and metoprolol because of its alkaline buffering capacity, reactive mineral surface, and fine particle size. The adsorption capacity of SRC was moderate for nutrients, but it failed to effectively adsorb pharmaceutical compounds. The Langmuir isotherm modeling showed that metoprolol adsorbs as a monolayer onto UHK, but no reliable fit existed for SRC or sand. This thesis demonstrates how waste-derived materials, specifically UHK, function as sustainable filter media in decentralized wastewater treatment systems

Keywords

wastewater, adsorption, biofilters, waste recycling, circular economy, contamination

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 3. 4. 2025

Thesis defence

• Date of defence: 19. 5. 2025
• Supervisor: Ing. Adam Jan Sochacki, Ph.D.
• Reader: Zuzana Vaňková, Ph.D.

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Environmental Sciences

Master programme:
Nature Conservation