Optimization of copper ions adsorptive process on drilling cutting ash (dca) from response surface methodology (rsm)

Produced Water (PW) and drilling gravel are tailings from the oil industry, and their management and treatment represent a key challenge for the oil industry. The literature reports numerous physicochemical techniques for the treatment of PW, and the adsorption process is the most attractive when removing traces of toxic metals present in this effluent, mainly due to its low cost, high selectivity and fast adsorption kinetics. The objective of this work was to optimize the adsorption process of bivalent copper ions in aqueous medium in the drilling cutting ash (DCA) from the surface response methodology. Adsorption assays were conducted in batch, under parameters (Adsorbent Mass, Initial Adsorbate Concentration) and predetermined operating conditions (stirring speed, temperature, pH, contact time and volume of synthetic solution). Based on the results of removal efficiency (87 to 100%) and adsorption capacity (divalent copper), a factorial design was performed using Statistica 7.0 software, evaluating the interaction of the adsorptive process parameters and their effects on the obtained results. And from the response surfaces for each parameter, it can be observed that for any DCA mass range (g) high levels of removal efficiency of bivalent copper ions were obtained, as well as high adsorption capacity for these metals. The results show that drilling cutting ash becomes a promising material for use in adsorptive processes in the treatment of produced water from oil fields.