Sand-supported bio-adsorbent column of activated carbon for removal of coliform bacteria and Escherichia coli from water

New bio-adsorbent carbon materials were synthesized from the leaves and veins of Mucuna pruriens and Manihot esculenta plants, which are locally available in abundance. The synthesized carbons were activated using 0.01N HNO₃. Surface area of the activated carbons from M. pruriens and M. esculenta plants was found to be quite high, i.e., 918 and 865 m²/g, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy analysis of the carbons reflects complex disorganized surface structures of different open pore sizes, shapes and dimensions. These properties of the newly synthesized activated carbons led to the development of a sand-supported carbon column, for its possible use in the removal of coliform bacteria and Escherichia coli (E. Coli) from raw water samples. The removal percentage of E. coli was found to be 100% with both the types of carbon adsorbents, as confirmed from the McCardy most probable number table. Similarly, the removal percentage of coliform bacteria was found to be 99 and 98.7% by M. pruriens and M. esculenta carbon columns, respectively. These activated carbons synthesized from locally available plants possess the characteristics of good low-cost adsorbents which can be easily used for the removal of bacteria from water by adsorption method.