TITLE:
Alumina/Iron Oxide Nano Composite for Cadmium Ions Removal from Aqueous Solutions
AUTHORS:
Mona Mahmoud Abd El-Latif, Amal M. Ibrahim, Marwa S. Showman, Rania R. Abdel Hamide
KEYWORDS:
Activated Alumina; Magnetic Properties; Cadmium Ions Removal; Equilibrium Isotherms; Kinetics
JOURNAL NAME:
International Journal of Nonferrous Metallurgy,
Vol.2 No.2,
April
29,
2013
ABSTRACT: Magnetic alumina nano composite (MANC) was prepared for combination of the adsorption features of nano activated alumina with the magnetic properties of iron oxides to produce a nano magnetic adsorbent, which can be separated from the medium by a simple magnetic process after adsorption. MANC was characterized using XRD, SEM, TEM, EDX and surface area (BET). Quantum design SQUID magnetometer was used to study the magnetic measurement. The present study was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of MANC for the removal of cadmium ions from aqueous solutions through batch adsorption technique. The effects of pH, adsorbent dose, temperature, contact time and initial Cd2+ concentration on cadmium ions adsorption were studied. Equilibrium data were fitted to Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherms. The equilibrium data were best represented by the Langmuir isotherm. The kinetic data were fitted to pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, Elovich and intraparticle diffusion models, and it was found to follow closely the pseudo-second-order model. Thermodynamic parameters were calculated for the Cd2+ ion-MANC system and the positive value of ΔH° showed that the adsorption was endothermic in nature. Furthermore, a single-stage batch adsorber was designed for the removal of Cd2+ ions by MANC based on the equilibrium data obtained.