Kushani Mahatantila (Sri Lanka)

Email: s089708 @matsu.shimane-u.ac.jp

Thesis title:  Developing a low-cost treatment material for pollutant removal in water.

Supervisor:  Prof. Minoru Okumura (2008-2011).

Inorganic substances such as As, Pb, Hg, Cd, and Cr have potential to cause adverse impacts on water quality, and consequently human health. Current treatment methods for removal of such inorganics include coagulation and filtration, adsorption on activated alumina, ion exchange on synthetic resins and manganese greensand, and adsorption on various hydrous Fe, Al oxides. However, such methods are costly, in terms of both production and disposal. The objective of my project is to explore the possibility of developing a low-cost treatment material using a natural sand known as Natural Red Earth, and a related application platform which can be used for removal of inorganic contaminants from water. This sand has been characterized as an iron- and aluminum-coated sand. In Sri Lanka it has previously used as a fill material in large excavations left after limestone mining for the cement industry.

This project aims to use three major approaches. The first consists of material characterization and processing using macro, micro and nanotechnology. The second comprises bench-top studies of sorption and desorption phenomena, and the third envisages computational modeling. By performing these studies, we will explore the possibility of developing a cost effective treatment material for pollutant removal in water, as well as contribute to the science by dissemination of our fndings.