Track: Environmental Engineering and Management

Abstract

This paper presents the innovative remediation process of mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) from water by using banana peel as a filtering material. The methodology includes the collection and preparation of raw materials, dehydration at low temperatures and heat fluxes, sifting to 150 microns and subsequently the digestion; lastly, the tests for the determination of minerals and fatty acid profiles were applied. With the results obtained, the behavior of the process of adsorption of the heavy metals Hg, Cd and Pb at different concentrations are measured. Compared with the methods currently used, the methodology of banana peel uses bioedegrable materials and is less costly because the banana peel is considered a waste. Our filtering material removed contaminants below what is proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO).