EFFECT OF MIXING SPEED AND SETTLING TIME ON THE TREATMENT OF INDUSTRIAL WASTE WATER WITH CELLULOSE ACETATE PRODUCED FROM RICE HUSK Omowu G.S, Akhihiero E.T., Oshomogho F. O. and Oyedoh E. A. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Benin, Benin City. Corresponding Author: thelma.akhihiero@uniben.edu ABSTRACT Industrial waste constitutes the major sources of various kinds of metal pollution and other pollutants in natural water. Waste waters generated from industrial treatment plant contain considerable contaminants which must be reduced to safe level before being released into the environment. The industrial waste water used in this work was collected from a Process industry in Benin. Cellulose Acetate was produced from rice husk containing 40-50% cellulose. Rice husk undergoes several processes like grinding, dewaxing, delignification, bleaching and acetylation. The Cellulose acetate produced was used to treat the waste water. The effect of mixing time was analyzed at a dosage of 4g/L, 200 rpm to 1200 rpm of mixing rate and settling time of 360 minutes maximum. The result obtained indicates that the industrial waste water is safe to be discharged into the environment. This study also revealed that rice husk is a very good and cheap source for making Cellulose acetate used in waste water treatment. Keywords: Cellulose acetate, Rice husk, Waste water, Mixing speed, Settling time. 1.0 INTRODUCTION Nigeria at the moment has established industries like petroleum refinery, soap and detergent, food and beverages, brewery, textiles and apparels, building materials, timber products, wood and leather works, metal works, chemicals and plastics industries. All these industries produce various effluents that are discharged into the environment. Most large cities in Nigeria e.g. Lagos, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Kano etc. are experiencing the negative effects of pollution from industrial effluents. Tons of industrial effluents are disposed indiscriminately into the lagoons, rivers, streams and lands (Olaniyi et al., 2012). It has been realized that discharges of untreated wastes or partially treated wastes containing algae, non-biodegradable organics, heavy metals and other toxicants hasten the deterioration of receiving water bodies. There is growing awareness of the need for effective treatment of various effluents before discharging into any public water body (Olutayo et al, 2015). The effluents generated from domestic and industrial activities constitute the major sources of the natural