Evaluation of Carcinogenic Contaminants (Nitrates, Ammonium, Bromates, and Chloroform) in Baghdad Drinking Water and Their Removal Using Orange Peel Powder as a Bio sorbent

The present study was carried out for six months to detect the presence of some important chemical contaminants (bromate, nitrate, chloroform, and ammonium) in the drinking water of Baghdad at ten sampling sites. The study suggested the use of orange peel powder (OPP) as a cheap and eco-friendly biosorbent. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to confirm the amorphous nature, surface and structural characteristics of OPP. Further, SEM investigation also showed very microporous surface. FTIR (Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy) analysis confirmed the presence of active carboxyl (-COOH) and hydroxyl (-OH) binding sites. Baseline studies show that the levels of nitrate and ammonium often exceed WHO standards (50 mg/L for nitrate and 0.5 mg/L for ammonium) before the start of treatment, and August and October present the highest levels of contamination. Batch adsorption experiments indicated a significant removal efficiency with 5 g OPP at pH 6 for 150 min. Bromate and chloroform concentrations were determined at 99.5% analytical detection limits. Ammonium was detected in 92% and nitrate in 96%. The results obtained confirm the efficiency of the physical entrapment into OPP matrix and chemical ion exchange for the purification of water. Future work will involve the exploration of material regeneration and cost-effective reusability, evaluation of the OPP performance in continuous-flow column systems for practical filter design, and extension of this approach to complex wastewater matrices to determine the effect of competing ions on overall efficiency.