Adsorption of Cr (III) and Cd (II) Ions using Mesoporous Cobalt-Ferrite Nanocomposite from Synthetic Wastewater

Abstract

In this study, cobalt-ferrite nano-composite (CFNC) is used to adsorb chromium and cadmium ions from synthetic wastewater. Adsorptive characteristics of CFNC are determined by various analysis including SEM, FTIR, VSM and BET. Also, effect of different parameters such as solution pH, buffer volume, electrolyte dose, the initial ion concentration, contact time, the adsorbent dose and temperature were studied on adsorption process. The results showed that the maximum recovery of Cd(II) and Cr(III) ions were determined as C0 = 20 mg/L, t = 50 min, T = 25 °C, CFNC dosage=20 g/L, and pH = 7 (for Cr(III)) and 6 (for Cd(II)). In these conditions, the amount of 100% Cr(III) and Cd(II) were removed from the aqueous solution. Also, the equilibrium study showed that the adsorption process followed the Langmuir model and the maximum adsorption capacity for Cr(III) and Cd(II) ions were obtained 217 and 303 mg/g, respectively which show very high adsorption capacities. In addition, adsorption kinetics showed that the pseudo first-order kinetic model was better than the pseudo second-order kinetic model. Moreover, thermodynamic studies showed that the adsorption process was possible, spontaneous and endothermic.