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Radiyat Najeem, Zoology - Bayero University, Kano, 2026

The rapid expansion of aquaculture has raised significant environmental concerns about the discharge of nutrient-rich wastewater, particularly phosphate (PO₄³⁻), which can drive eutrophication in receiving water bodies. This study investigates the potential of charcoal from the tamarind tree, characterized by a point of zero charge (PZC) at pH of 9.41 and rich in oxygen functional groups, as an effective adsorbent for phosphate removal from aquaculture effluent. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of charcoal dosages (0.5%, 1.0%, 2.0%, and 4.0% of the synthetic wastewater volume) on PO₄³⁻ removal efficiency and adsorption capacity in wastewater with an initial PO₄³⁻ concentration of 90.56 mg/L. The study revealed that PO₄³⁻ removal efficiency increased slightly with increasing charcoal dose, while adsorption capacity decreased. The charcoal doses of 2.0% and 4.0% achieved removal efficiencies of 26% and 24.4%, respectively compared to the 23.8% achieved at 0.5% charcoal dose. However, the high adsorption capacity of 2.49 mg/g was achieved at a 0.5% charcoal dose, compared to 0.68 and 0.32 mg/g at 2% and 4% charcoal doses, respectively. The effect of 0.5% charcoal was further studied in real aquaculture wastewater with initial PO₄³⁻ of 20.15 mg/L (autoclaved) and 25.38 mg/L (unautoclaved) and found to remove 49.38% and 66.77% of PO₄³⁻ from autoclaved and unautoclaved aquaculture wastewater, respectively. These findings underscore the viability of charcoal as a sustainable, cost-effective adsorbent for treating aquaculture wastewater.