Chapter 3

Bio Adsorption

An Eco-friendly Alternative for

Industrial Effluents Treatment

Andrea Saralegui,^1,* M. Natalia Piol,¹

Victoria Willson,¹ Néstor Caracciolo,² Silvia Ramos³

and Susana Boeykens¹

3.1 Introduction

Industrial effluents are complex systems and therefore their treatment requires an integral approach.

The composition and characteristics of each type of effluent, whether solid or liquid, determine the

treatment to be required and its final disposal. In order to find a feasible solution for each specific

case, it is necessary to recognize the system and look for alternatives that reduce costs.

Both waste and pollutants can be considered as misplaced or unexploited resources. That is to

say, the lack of a process’s holistic view means that an incorrect disposal of a material turns it into a

waste or even a pollutant. The reuse of this material not only reduces the degree of contamination,

but also reduces the operational costs of its disposal and/or treatment. Furthermore, it turns it into a

valuable resource that could even have some added value in other activities. Thus, what was earlier

called “waste” could be seen as a new raw material in a recycling and reuse process, becoming a loop

within the circular economy (Saralegui et al. 2022). The study of these new sources of raw materials

is a way forward to improve the sustainability of water and effluent treatment technologies.

Environmental contamination with metals can negatively affect ecosystems and the exposed

population health; this contamination is mainly due to technological changes and the increasing

use of metal-containing materials in industry. This has led to concern and has led to numerous

investigations on treatment technologies for water, effluents and contaminated soils (Branzini

and Zubillaga 2012, Cartaya et al. 2011, EPA 2000, Volke Sepúlveda and Velasco Trejo 2002).

1 Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ingeniería, Instituto de Química Aplicada a la Ingeniería (IQAI), Laboratorio de

Química de Sistemas Heterogéneos (LaQuíSiHe). Av. Paseo Colón 850, C1063ACV, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

2 Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ingeniería, Instituto de Química Aplicada a la Ingeniería (IQAI), Laboratorio de

Química Ambiental (LaQuíAmb). Av. Paseo Colón 850, C1063ACV, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

3 Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ingeniería, Grupo Modelos Aplicados a Gestión Industrial, Dpto. de Gestión-

Cátedras de Modelos y Optimización I y III. Av. Las Heras 2214, C1126, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

* Corresponding author: laquisihe@fi.uba.ar