Chitosan-modified palygorskite: Preparation,characterization and reactive dye removal

Chitosan-modified palygorskite (CTS-modified PA) was prepared by surface grafting of PA with chitosan, and the CTS-modified PA was used as an effective adsorbent for the removal of reactive dye. The effects of various experimental parameters such as initial pH, adsorbent dosage, contact time and initial dye concentration on adsorption were investigated. The adsorption behavior of CTS-modified PA showed that the adsorption kinetics and isotherms were in good agreement with the pseudo-second-order equation and the Langmuir equation, and the maximum adsorption capacity of CTS-modified PA calculated by the Langmuir model was 71.38 mg g^− 1, which was much higher than that of the unmodified PA (6.3 mg g^− 1).     

Enhanced fluoride removal from water by non-thermal plasma modified CeO2/Mg–Fe layered double hydroxides

A novel fast and efficient adsorbent based on lamellar compound namely CeO₂/Mg–Fe layered double hydroxide composite has been designed for fluoride removal from water. In order to improve fluoride removal efficiency, non-thermal plasma (NTP) was used to modify the surface state of composites. The prepared composites were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis and surface area analyzer. Adsorption equilibrium and kinetics of fluoride on NTP modified composites were investigated. Experimental results indicated that the adsorption capacity was enhanced with NTP surface modification. The maximum adsorption capacity has been found to be 38.7–60.4 mg/g. The kinetic data of adsorption were found to best fit the pseudo-second-order model, while the equilibrium data were found to be well described by Langmuir model. In order to understand the mechanism of adsorption, thermodynamic parameters such as ΔG^θ, ΔS^θ and E_a were calculated. After NTP treatment, the ΔS^θ increased from − 34.7 J/mol·K to − 0.770 J/mol·K, the E_a decreased from 78.8 kJ/mol to 58.9 kJ/mol and the ΔG^θ (25 °C) decreased from − 2.62 kJ/mol to − 3.14 kJ/mol. These values indicate that the fluoride adsorption on NTP modified composites was improved.     

Controllable synthesis of mesoporous alumina with large surface area for high and fast fluoride removal

Gamma phase of mesoporous alumina (MA) with large surface area was successfully synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method followed by thermal treatment for fluoride removal. The as-synthesized MA nanoparticles with average size of 20 nm–150 nm have ordered wormhole-like mesoporous structure. The pore size is 5 nm with a narrow distribution, and the specific surface area reaches 357 m² g⁻¹ while the bulk density is 0.45 cm³ g⁻¹. Glucose as a small-molecule template plays an important role on the morphology, surface area and pore diameter of the MA. As an ionic adsorbent for fluoride removal, the maximum adsorption capacity of MA is 8.25 mg g⁻¹, and the remove efficiency reaches 90% in several minutes at pH of 3. The Langmuir equilibrium model is found to be suitable for describing the fluoride sorption on MA and the adsorption behavior follows the pseudo-second-order equation well with a correlation coefficient larger than 0.99. The larger surface area and relatively narrow pore size of MA are believed to be responsible for improving the adsorption efficiency for fluoride in aqueous solution.     

Effluent organic matter removal from reverse osmosis feed by granular activated carbon and purolite A502PS fluidized beds

Applying pre-treatments to remove dissolved organic matter from reverse osmosis (RO) feed can help to reduce organic fouling of the RO membrane. In this study the performance of granular activated carbon (GAC), a popular adsorbent, and purolite A502PS, an anion exchange resin, in removing effluent organic matter (EfOM) from RO feed collected from a water reclamation plant located at Sydney Olympic Park, Australia were evaluated and compared through adsorption equilibrium, kinetics and fluidized bed experiments. The maximum adsorption capacity (Q_max) of GAC calculated from the Langmuir model with RO feed was 13.4 mg/g GAC. The operational conditions of fluidized bed columns packed with GAC and purolite A502PS strongly affected the removal of EfOM. GAC fluidized bed with a bed height of 10 cm and fluidization velocity of 5.7 m/h removed more than 80% of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) during a 7 h experiment. The average DOC removal was 60% when the bed height was reduced to 7 cm. When comparing GAC with purolite A502PS, more of the later was required to remove the same amount of DOC. The poorer performance of purolite A502PS can be explained by the competition provided by other inorganic anions present in RO feed. A plug flow model can be used to predict the impact of the amount of adsorbent and of the flow rate on removal of organic matter from the fluidized bed column.     

Cationic polymer chain tethered on the pore-wall of 3-D ordered macroporous resin for the removal of hexavalent chromium from aqueous solution

A novel 3-D ordered macroporous (3DOM) adsorbent with a cationic polymer chain (poly(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate), PDMAEMA) tethered on the pore wall was prepared by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) for the removal of toxic Cr(VI) ions from aqueous solution. In comparison with recently reported adsorbents, the adsorbent remarkably stands out owing to large adsorption capacity, relatively fast kinetics, and high stability in the regeneration process. The adsorption capacity significantly depended on the solution pH and there was a wide working pH range that is much convenient in practical application. Kinetics of Cr(VI) adsorption by the 3DOM adsorbent was studied in batch experiments, in the temperature range 298–318 K. The equilibriums were arrived within 120–130 min and a pseudo-second order model can be described well. In the adsorption isotherm study, experimental data followed the Langmuir adsorption model. The maximum adsorption capacity increased with the increase of temperature, and reached the high value of 431.0 mg/g at 308 K. Thermodynamic parameters revealed spontaneous and endothermic adsorption processes. Furthermore, the 3DOM adsorbent remained high adsorption capacity (above 90% of the original Cr(VI) loading capacity) after 15 adsorption–desorption cycles by simply using sodium hydroxide solution as the desorption liquid, which ensured the reusability of 3DOM adsorbent.     

Adsorption behavior of fluoride ions using a titanium hydroxide-derived adsorbent

The removal behavior of fluoride ions was examined in aqueous sodium fluoride solutions using a titanium hydroxide-derived adsorbent. The adsorbent was prepared from titanium oxysulfate (TiOSO₄·xH₂O) solution, and was characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectrum and specific surface area. Batchwise adsorption test of prepared adsorbent was carried out in aqueous sodium fluoride solutions and real wastewater containing fluoride ion. The absorbent was the amorphous material, which had different morphology to the raw material, titanium oxysulfate, and the specific surface area of the adsorbent (96.8 m²/g) was 200 times higher than that of raw material (0.5 m²/g). Adsorption of fluoride on the adsorbent was saturated within 30 min in the solution with 200 mg/L of fluoride ions, together with increasing pH of the solution, due to ion exchange between fluoride ions in the solution and hydroxide ions in the adsorbent. Fluoride ions were adsorbed even in at a low fluoride concentration of 5 mg/L; and were selectively adsorbed in the solution containing a high concentration of chloride, nitrate and sulfate ions. The adsorbent can remove fluoride below permitted level (< 0.8 mg/L) from real wastewaters containing various substances. The maximum adsorption of fluoride on the adsorbent could be obtained in the solution at about pH 3. After fluoride adsorption, fluoride ions were easily desorbed using a high pH solution, completely regenerating for further removal process at acidic pH. The capacity for fluoride ion adsorption was almost unchanged three times after repeat adsorption and desorption. The equilibrium adsorption capacity of the adsorbent used for fluoride ion at pH 3 was measured, extrapolated using Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models, and experimental data are found to fit Freundlich than Langmuir. The prepared adsorbent is expected to be a new inorganic ion exchanger for the removal and recovery of fluoride ions from wastewater.     

Heavy metals uptake from aqueous solutions and industrial wastewaters by humic acid-immobilized polymer/bentonite composite: Kinetics and equilibrium modeling

This study explored the feasibility of utilizing a novel adsorbent, humic acid-immobilized-amine-modified polyacrylamide/bentonite composite (HA-Am-PAA-B) for the adsorption of Cu(II), Zn(II) and Co(II) ions from aqueous solutions. The FTIR and XRD analyses were done to characterize the adsorbent material. The effects of pH, contact time, initial adsorbate concentration, ionic strength and adsorbent dose on adsorption of metal ions were investigated using batch adsorption experiments. The optimum pH for Cu(II), Zn(II) and Co(II) adsorption was observed at 5.0, 9.0 and 8.0, respectively. The mechanism for the removal of metal ions by HA-Am-PAA-B was based on ion exchange and complexation reactions. Metal removal by HA-Am-PAA-B followed a pseudo-second-order kinetics and equilibrium was achieved within 120 min. The suitability of Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich adsorption models to the equilibrium data was investigated. The adsorption was well described by the Langmuir isotherm model. The maximum monolayer adsorption capacity was 106.2, 96.1 and 52.9 mg g^?1 for Cu(II), Zn(II) and Co(II) ions, respectively, at 30 °C. The efficiency of HA-Am-PAA-B in removing metal ions from different industry wastewaters was tested. Adsorbed metal ions were desorbed effectively (97.7 for Cu(II), 98.5 for Zn(II) and 99.2% for Co(II)) by 0.1 M HCl. The reusability of the HA-Am-PAA-B for several cycles was also demonstrated.     

Gas-phase mercury removal through sulfur impregnated porous carbon

Gas phase mercury removal is a vital unit operation in gas processing industries. The present work attempts to prepare a sulfur impregnated carbon at optimized experimental conditions and compares its elemental adsorption capacity with the number of commercially available carbon based adsorbents. The effect of adsorption temperature on mercury adsorption capacity has been estimated for the prepared sulfur impregnated carbon. The adsorption capacity was found to increase with increase in adsorption temperature owing to the chemisorption nature of the adsorption. The adsorption isotherms were generated at three different temperatures and were found to close adhere to the Langmuir Isotherm model. The adsorption capacity was found to increase until 140 °C, while decrease beyond, which was attributed to the softening and agglomeration of sulfur. The maximum adsorption capacity of 4325 μg/g was observed at a temperature of 140 °C. A comparison of the relative adsorption capacity of various adsorbent at 30 °C, revealed the adsorption capacity of the sulfur impregnated carbon prepared in the present work much higher than the commercially available carbons. The high adsorption capacities with simple preparation techniques favor the commercial mercury adoption process.     

Fluoride ions adsorption from water by CaCO3 enhanced Mn–Fe mixed metal oxides

Novel CaCO₃-enhanced Mn–Fe mixed metal oxides (CMFC) were successfully prepared for the first time by a simple-green hydrothermal strategy without any surfactant or template combined with calcination process. These oxides were then employed as an adsorbent for adsorptive removal of excess fluoride ions. The adsorbent was characterized by SEM, XPS, XRD, FTIR, and BET analysis techniques. The adsorption property of CMFC toward fluoride ion was analyzed by batch experiments. In fact, CMFC exhibited adsorption capacity of 227.3 mg∙g^‒1 toward fluoride ion. Results showed that ion exchange, electrostatic attraction and chemical adsorption were the main mechanism for the adhesion of large amount of fluoride ion on the CMFC surface, and the high adsorption capacity responded to the low pH of the adsorption system. When the fluoride ion concentration was increased from 20 to 200 mg∙L^‒1, Langmuir model was more in line with experimental results. The change of fluoride ion adsorption with respect to time was accurately described by pseudo-second-order kinetics. After five cycles of use, the adsorbent still maintains a performance of 70.6% of efficiency, compared to the fresh adsorbent. Therefore, this material may act as a potential candidate for adsorbent with broad range of application prospects.     

Experimental study of hydrogen fluoride adsorption on sodium fluoride

In uranium conversion industry, the fluorine is used as chemical raw material gas to produce UF₄ and UF₆ while its purity is very important. In this study, the adsorption process of hydrogen fluoride, as an impurity in the process of fluorine production, on sodium fluoride pellets is experimentally studied in a lab-scale fixed bed adsorbent. Also, the effects of some operating parameters including inlet concentration and inlet temperature of hydrogen fluoride are precisely investigated on the adsorption process. The data of adsorption are analyzed and correlated by Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherms. The adsorption capacity is found to be 1.908 and 0.750 g HF/g NaF by the Langmuir isotherm at 22 and 54 °C, respectively. The favorability nature of adsorption which is expressed in terms of a dimensionless separation factor (R_L) is found to be more than 1 which indicates an unfavorable adsorption. In addition, the data analysis shows that the Langmuir and Temkin isotherms correlate the equilibrium isotherms better than that of Freundlich.     

Humic acid-immobilized polymer/bentonite composite as an adsorbent for the removal of copper(II) ions from aqueous solutions and electroplating industry wastewater

In this study, humic acid (HA) was immobilized onto amine-modified polyacrylamide/bentonite composite (Am-PAA-B) which was prepared by direct intercalation polymerization technique and the product (HA-Am-PAA-B) was used as an adsorbent for the removal of copper(II) ions from aqueous solutions. The surface characteristics of bentonite, Am-PAA-B and HA-Am-PAA-B were investigated. The adsorbent behaved like a cation exchanger and more than 99.0% Cu(II) ions’ removal was observed at the pH range 5.0–6.0. Kinetic and isotherm experiments showed that amount of Cu(II) ions adsorbed increases with increase of the initial concentration and temperature. The adsorption kinetic data were interpreted by pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order rate equations. The suitability of Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin–Radushkevich (D-R) adsorption models to the equilibrium data was investigated. The Langmuir isotherm was found to provide the best theoretical correlation of the experimental equilibrium data. The thermodynamic and kinetic activation parameters were derived to predict the nature of adsorption process and discussed in detail. The isosteric heat of adsorption was constant even after increase in surface loading. The removal efficiency of HA-Am-PAA-B was tested using electroplating industry wastewater. The desorption of adsorbed Cu(II) ions was achieved by 0.1 M HCl and four adsorption/desorption cycles were performed without significant decrease in the adsorption capacity.     

Nano-TiO2 modified with 2-mercaptobenzimidazole as an efficient adsorbent for removal of Ag(I) from aqueous solutions

Nano-TiO₂ was modified with 2-mercaptobenzimidazole via surfactant activation and used as an adsorbent for the removal of Ag(I) under optimum conditions. The adsorbent was characterized using powder X-ray diffraction and FT-IR spectroscopy. The equilibrium data were fitted to the Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherm models. Langmuir isotherm describes the adsorption data better than Freundlich isotherm and Temkin. Kinetic studies showed that the pseudo second order kinetic model fits the adsorption kinetic processes well. Maximum adsorption capacity for Ag(I) was 128.2 mg g⁻¹ of nano-TiO₂. The method was successfully applied to the removal of silver from radiology film processing wastewater samples.     

Adsorption of hexavalent chromium from aqueous solutions by bio-chars obtained during biomass pyrolysis

In this study, bio-chars were evaluated as a potential adsorbent for the removal of Cr (VI) ions from aqueous solutions. The effects of some important parameters including initial pH (1.5–7), adsorbent dose (0.2–5 g/L), contact time (5–900 min) and initial Cr (VI) ion concentration (5–75 mg/L) were tested on the removal of Cr (VI) ions from aqueous solution in batch experiments. Maximum adsorption capacities of the tested bio-chars under the certain experimental conditions determined as optimal were 3.53 mg/g for NCBC, 3.97 mg/g for NZCBC and 6.08 mg/g for ACBC, respectively. Results of the kinetic and isotherm modeling studies revealed that the adsorption data fitted well with a pseudo-second order and Langmuir model. In among the tested bio-chars, the bio-char (ACBC) was largely equivalent to activated carbon: AC (9.97 mg/g) in terms of adsorption capacity. All results indicated that the bio-chars had higher adsorption capacity than some chars and activated carbons reported previously, and also that these bio-chars could be used successfully as low-cost adsorbents for the removal of chromium ions from aqueous solutions under the tested experimental conditions.     

Chemically modified organic/inorganic nanoporous composite particles for the adsorption of reactive black 5 from aqueous solution

In the present work, we report a chemically modified polyacrylamide/silica nanoporous composite adsorbent for the removal of reactive black 5 (RB5) azo dye from aqueous solutions. The composite adsorbent was synthesized in a packed bed and modified by ethylenediamine (EDA). The adsorbent was characterized by Fourier transformation infrared (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), thermoporometry, Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) method and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Mechanical stability of the adsorbent was examined in a packed bed by following the back-pressure of the column. Pore diameter of the composite adsorbent in dry and wet states was estimated to be about 18.71 nm and 12.61 nm, respectively. Adsorption experiments were performed in batch mode and effect of various operational parameters on the adsorption capability of the adsorbent was studied systematically. The maximum adsorption capacity of the modified composites was found to be 454.5 mg RB5/g of adsorbent. The equilibrium data were analyzed by Langmuir, Freundlich, Sips, BET and Redlich–Peterson isotherm models and found to fit well to the BET isotherm. The data kinetically followed the pseudo-second-order model. High adsorption capacity, fast removal mechanism, and good mechanical stability are three advantages of the presented composite for the removal of RB5.     

Adsorption of Reactive Blue 114 dye by using a new adsorbent: Pomelo peel

This paper describes the removal of Reactive Blue 114 dye from aqueous solutions by using pomelo (Citrus grandis) peel. Pomelo peel can be described as a new, low cost, abundantly available adsorbent. The optimum adsorbent mass, dye concentration, contact time and pH were determined in this study. The parameters of Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin adsorption isotherms were also obtained using concentrations of the dyes ranging from 1.0 to 200 mg/L. Maximum adsorption capacity was obtained as 16 mg/g at pH 2 and 303 K solution temperature. The adsorption process was observed to be reaching equilibrium after about 90 min.     

Adsorption behavior of Cd(II) ions on humic acid-immobilized sodium alginate and hydroxyl ethyl cellulose blending porous composite membrane adsorbent

A novel porous composite adsorbent was prepared by using sodium alginate and hydroxyl ethyl cellulose blending as an immobilization matrix for humic acid, then crosslinked by glutaraldehyde. The adsorbent was prepared using polyethylene glycol (PEG) as porogen and used to remove Cd(II) ions from aqueous solution. The physico-chemistry properties of adsorbent before and after adsorption were investigated by FT-IR, SEM and EDX methods. Batch adsorption experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of the amount of PEG adding to the adsorbent, solution pH, dosage of adsorbent, initial Cd(II) ions concentration and contact time. The prepared adsorbent exhibited the maximum uptake of 148.9 mg/g under the optimal adsorption condition. Kinetics experiments indicated that the pseudo-first-order model displayed the best correlation with adsorption kinetics data. The Crank model showed that the intraparticle solute diffusion was the rate-controlling adsorption step. Besides, experimental data could be better described by the Freundlich isotherm model. Dubinin–Radushkevich isotherm indicated that the adsorption was mainly an ion exchange process. The results suggested that the prepared adsorbent is promising for using as an effective and economical adsorbent for Cd(II) ions removal.     

A hydrophilic matrix for boron isolation: Monodisperse-porous poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) particles carrying diol functionality

The novel chelating adsorbent has been synthesized by functionalization of monodisperse-porous poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) particles with N-methylglucamine (NMDG) as a boron selective ligand. The resulting resin can adsorb boron in almost all pH range (pH 4–10) and its maximum capacity is ca. 12 mg/g. The adsorption behavior of poly(GMA-co-EDM)NMDG resin obeyed Langmuir isotherm well.     

Phosphate removal from water using an iron oxide impregnated strong base anion exchange resin

Removing phosphate from water is important as it causes eutrophication, which in turn has a harmful effect on aquatic life, resulting in a reduction in biodiversity. On the other hand, recovery of phosphate from phosphorus containing wastewater is essential for developing an alternative source of phosphorus to overcome the global challenge of phosphorus scarcity. Phosphate removal from aqueous solutions was studied using an iron oxide impregnated strong base anion exchange resin, Purolite FerrIX A33E in batch and fixed-bed column experiments. Phosphate adsorption in the batch study satisfactorily fitted to the Langmuir isotherm with a maximum adsorption capacity of 48 mg P/g. In the column study, increase in inlet phosphate concentration (5–30 mg P/L), and filtration velocity (2.5–10 m/h) resulted in faster breakthrough times and increase in breakthrough adsorption capacities. Increase in bed height (3–19 cm) also increased adsorption capacity but the breakthrough time was slower. The breakthrough data were reasonably well described using the empirical models of Bohart–Adams, Thomas, and Yoon–Nelson, except for high bed heights. Phosphate adsorbed was effectively desorbed using 1 M NaOH and the adsorbent was regenerated after each of three adsorption/desorption cycles by maintaining the adsorption capacity at >90% of the original value. Greater than 99.5% of the desorbed P was recovered by precipitation using CaCl₂.     

Enhanced adsorptive removal of fluoride using mesoporous alumina

Two different kinds of mesoporous alumina samples were prepared using aluminum tri-sec-butoxide in the presence of either cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (MA-1) or stearic acid (MA-2) as a structure-directing agent, and tested for adsorptive removal of fluoride in water. Both materials contain a wormhole-like mesopore structure, but exhibited different textural properties: surface area (421 or 650 m²/g) and pore volume (0.96 or 0.59 cm³/g). These mesoporous aluminas demonstrated significantly improved adsorption capacity and faster kinetics to those of the commercial activated aluminas in fluoride removal by adsorption process. MA-2 prepared using stearic acid, in particular, demonstrated an adsorption capacity (14.26 mg/g) and initial adsorption rate (14.6 mg/g min) that were respectively 2.2 and 45 times higher than those of a commercial gamma alumina. The textural features of larger surface area and relatively smaller pore size in MA-2 compared to the activated aluminas are believed to be responsible for this enhancement in adsorption process.     

Removal of malachite green from aqueous solution by zinc oxide nanoparticle loaded on activated carbon: Kinetics and isotherm study

In this research, a novel adsorbent, zinc oxide nanoparticle loaded on activated carbon (ZnO-NP-AC) was synthesized by a simple, low cost and efficient procedure. Subsequently, this novel material was characterizated and identified by different techniques such as Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis. Unique properties such as high surface area (>603 m²/g) and low pore size (<61 Å) and average particle size lower than 100 Å in addition to high reactive atom and presence of various functional groups make it possible for efficient removal of malachite green (MG). In batch experimental set-up, optimum conditions for quantitative removal of MG by ZnO-NP-AC was attained following searching effect of variables such as adsorbent dosage, initial dye concentration and pH. Optimum values were set as pH of 7.0, 0.015 g of ZnO-NP-AC at removal time of 15 min. Kinetic studies at various adsorbent dosage and initial MG concentration show that maximum MG removal was achieved within 15 min of the start of every experiment at most conditions. The adsorption of MG follows the pseudo-second-order rate equation in addition to interparticle diffusion model (with removal more than 95%) at all conditions. Equilibrium data fitted well with the Langmuir model at all amount of adsorbent, while maximum adsorption capacity was 322.58 mg g⁻¹ for 0.005 g of ZnO-NP-AC.