Enhanced adsorption of arsenate on titanium dioxide using Ca and Mg ions

In this study, we report the effects of pH and divalent cations on the adsorption of arsenate (As(V)) by titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles. The extent of As(V) adsorption on TiO₂ decreased with increasing pH due to the decrease of positively charged binding sites on the TiO₂ surface. The Langmuir maximum uptake capacity at pH 4 is about three times higher than that at pH 7. Here we show that the relatively low As(V) uptake at circumneutral pH could be substantially enhanced by the addition of common divalent cations such as magnesium and calcium. At a concentration of approximately 7 mM, magnesium and calcium increased the extent of As(V) adsorption from 2.1 to 6.5 and 7.7 mg As(V)/g TiO₂, respectively.     

改性栗壳吸附重金属离子的动力学及热力学研究

对改性板栗壳吸附Cr(VI)、Cu(II)及Ni(II)3种重金属离子过程的动力学和热力学进行研究。结果表明:改性板栗壳吸附Cr(VI)、Cu(II)和Ni(II)3种混合离子时存在拮抗的竞争关系,竞争吸附顺序为Cu(II)﹤Ni(II)﹤Cr(VI);与单独吸附过程相比,混合吸附平衡时,改性板栗壳对3种离子相应的去除率均有所降低,Cr(VI)去除率比单独吸附时降低20.2%,Cu(II)和Ni(II)分别降低40.7%和35.6%;拟二级动力学方程能很好地描述Cr(VI)、Cu(II)和Ni(II)在改性板栗壳上的单独和混合吸附过程,结果表明此3种重金属离子在改性板栗壳表面以化学吸附为主;热力学研究数据表明:改性板栗壳对Cr(VI)的吸附为吸热反应,对Cu(II)和Ni(II)的吸附为放热反应。     

Pb(II) adsorption from aqueous solutions by raw and treated biomass of maize stover – A comparative study

The potential to remove Pb(II) ion from wastewater treatment systems using raw and treated maize stover through adsorption was investigated in batch experiments. To achieve this, batch mode experiments were conducted choosing specific parameters such as pH (2–8), dosage concentration (2–30 g L⁻¹), contact time (5–180 min), temperature (20–45 °C) and metal ion concentrations (10–50 mg L⁻¹). Adsorption was pH-dependent showing a maximum at pH value 5. The equilibrium sorption capacities of raw and treated maize stover were 19.65 and 27.10 mg g⁻¹, respectively. The adsorption data fitted well to the Langmuir isotherm model. Kinetic studies revealed that the adsorption process followed pseudo-second-order model. The calculated thermodynamic parameters showed that the adsorption of Pb(II) was spontaneous and exothermic in nature. Consequently, this study demonstrated that both raw and treated maize stover could be used as adsorbents for the treatment of Pb(II) from industrial wastewaters.     

Synthesis of hydroxyapatite/clay and hydroxyapatite/pumice composites for tetracycline removal from aqueous solutions

Synthesized hydroxyapatite/clay (HA-C) and hydroxyapatite/pumice (HA-P) composites were used for tetracycline (TC) uptake studies from aqueous solution and their uptake capacities were compared. HA-C and HA-P composites were synthesized by precipitation method and the structures of the synthesized composites were characterized by XRD, SEM and BET analyses. Cation exchange capacities of HA-C and HA-P were found to be 84 meq/100 g and 33 meq/100 g, respectively. The TC adsorption using HA-C and HA-P was studied on batch mode. Various parameters such as contact time, solution pH, initial TC concentration, composite dosage, salinity and temperature were optimized. Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin–Radushkevich (D–R) isotherm models were applied to the equilibrium data. The maximum adsorption capacity onto HA-C was found to be 76.02 mg/g and about four times larger than the adsorption capacity of the HA-P (17.87 mg/g). The results indicated that the TC uptake onto HA-C and HA-P composites is mainly by a surface complexation and ion-exchange mechanism which depend on the solution pH. The calculated values of thermodynamic parameters indicated that the TC adsorption is favorable, physicochemical in nature. The sorption process follows pseudo-second-order and intraparticle diffusion kinetic models. The TC adsorption mechanism by HA-C and HA-P has been proposed.     

Flower-, wire-, and sheet-like MnO_2-deposited diatomites:Highly efficient absorbents for the removal of Cr(Ⅵ)

Flower-, wire-, and sheet-like MnO2-deposited diatomites have been prepared using a hydrothermal method with Mn(Ac)2, KMnO4and/or MnSO4 as Mn source and diatomite as support. Physical properties of the materials were characterized by means of numerous analytical techniques, and their behaviors in the adsorption of chromium(VI) were evaluated.It is shown that the MnO2-deposited diatomite samples with different morphologies possessed high surface areas and abundant surface hydroxyl groups(especially the wire-like MnO2/diatomite sample). The wire-like MnO2/diatomite sample showed the best performance in the removal of Cr(VI), giving the maximum Cr(VI) adsorption capacity of 101 mg/g.     

Regeneration performance and carbon consumption of semi-coke and activated coke for SO2 and NO removal

To decrease the operating cost of flue gas purification technologies based on carbon-based materials, the adsorption and regeneration performance of low-price semi-coke and activated coke were compared for SO₂ and NO removal in a simulated flue gas. The functional groups of the two adsorbents before and after regeneration were characterized by a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer, and were quantitatively assessed using temperature programmed desorption (TPD) coupled with FTIR and acid–base titration. The results show that semi-coke had higher adsorption capacity (16.2% for SO₂ and 38.6% for NO) than activated coke because of its higher content of basic functional groups and lactones. After regeneration, the adsorption performance of semi-coke decreased because the number of active functional groups decreased and the micropores increased. Semi-coke had better regeneration performance than activated coke. Semi-coke had a larger SO₂ recovery of 7.2% and smaller carbon consumption of 12% compared to activated coke. The semi-coke carbon-based adsorbent could be regenerated at lower temperatures to depress the carbon consumption, because the SO₂ recovery was only reduced a small amount.     

Succinate-bonded pullulan: An efficient and reusable super-sorbent for cadmium-uptake from spiked high-hardness groundwater

Chemically modified pullulan was evaluated for its sorption efficiency and selectivity to remove cadmium(Cd) from spiked high-hardness groundwater(GW). Pullulan esterified with succinic anhydride using dimethylaminopyridine showed a fairly high degree of substitution value as confirmed by1 H NMR spectroscopy. Pullulan succinate(Pull-Suc) was converted into the sodium salt(Pull-Suc-Na). The effect of contact time(5–200 min) and p H(2–8) on Cd-uptake by the sorbent(Pull-Suc-Na) was investigated. The sorbent showed more than 90% Cd-removal in first 15 min from distilled water(DW) and GW solution,respectively. Comparison of Pull-Suc-Na with other polysaccharidal sorbents suggested its high efficiency(DW 476.2 mg/g and GW 454.5 mg/g) and selectivity for the removal of Cd by an ion exchange mechanism, which is further supported by the negative Gibbs free energy values calculated from Langmuir isotherms. A Langmuir isotherm kinetic model provided the best fit for the sorption of Cd using Pull-Suc-Na. The sorbent showed a negligible decrease in Cd-uptake over three regeneration cycles. The thermal stability testing of the sorbents indicated that Pull-Suc-Na(sorbent) is more stable than Pull-Suc.     

Adsorption of benzene, cyclohexane and hexane on ordered mesoporous carbon

Ordered mesoporous carbon(OMC) with high specific surface area and large pore volume was synthesized and tested for use as an adsorbent for volatile organic compound(VOC)disposal. Benzene, cyclohexane and hexane were selected as typical adsorbates due to their different molecular sizes and extensive utilization in industrial processes. In spite of their structural differences, high adsorption amounts were achieved for all three adsorbates, as the pore size of OMC is large enough for the access of these VOCs. In addition, the unusual bimodal-like pore size distribution gives the adsorbates a higher diffusion rate compared with conventional adsorbents such as activated carbon and carbon molecular sieve. Kinetic analysis suggests that the adsorption barriers mainly originated from the difficulty of VOC vapor molecules entering the pore channels of adsorbents. Therefore, its superior adsorption ability toward VOCs, together with a high diffusion rate, makes the ordered mesoporous carbon a promising potential adsorbent for VOC disposal.     

Predicting heavy metals' adsorption edges and adsorption isotherms on MnO2 with the parameters determined from Langmuir kinetics

Although surface complexation models have been widely used to describe the adsorption of heavy metals, few studies have verified the feasibility of modeling the adsorption kinetics, edge, and isotherm data with one pH-independent parameter. A close inspection of the derivation process of Langmuir isothermrevealed that the equilibriumconstant derived from the Langmuir kinetic model, K_S-kinetic, is theoretically equivalent to the adsorption constant in Langmuir isotherm, K_S-Langmuir. The modified Langmuir kinetic model (MLK model) and modified Langmuir isothermmodel (MLImodel) incorporating pH factor were developed. The MLKmodel was employed to simulate the adsorption kinetics of Cu(II), Co(II), Cd(II), Zn(II) and Ni(II) on MnO₂ at pH 3.2 or 3.3 to get the values of K_S-kinetic. The adsorption edges of heavy metals could be modeled with the modified metal partitioning model (MMP model), and the values of K_S-Langmuirwere obtained. The values of K_S-kinetic and K_S-Langmuir are very close to each other, validating that the constants obtained by these two methods are basically the same. The MMP model with K_S-kinetic constants could predict the adsorption edges of heavy metals on MnO₂ very well at different adsorbent/adsorbate concentrations. Moreover, the adsorption isotherms of heavy metals on MnO₂ at various pH levels could be predicted reasonably well by the MLI model with the K_S-kinetic constants.