Abstract
The initial characteristics of Romanian fly ash from the CET II Holboca power plant show the feasibility of its application for the production of a new material with applicability in environmental decontamination. The material obtained was characterized using standard techniques: scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area, and thermogravimetric differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA). The adsorption capacity of the obtained material was evaluated in batch systems with different values of the initial Cu(II) ion concentration, pH, adsorbent dose, and contact time in order to optimize the adsorption process. According to the experimental data presented in this study, the adsorbent synthesized has a high adsorption capacity for copper ions (qmax = 27.32–58.48 mg/g). The alkali treatment of fly ash with NaOH improved the adsorption capacity of the obtained material compared to that of the untreated fly ash. Based on the kinetics results, the adsorption of copper ions onto synthesized material indicated the chemisorption mechanism. Notably, fly ash can be considered an important beginning in obtaining new materials with applicability to wastewater treatment.
Highlights
Fly ash is a manufactured product that comes from coal burning power plants
Fly ash particles are predominantly spherical in shape with a relatively smooth surface texture
The results show that the adsorbent dose recommended for the maximum Cu(II) removal efficiency from an initial concentration of 300 mg/L is 1 g adsorbent/100 mL solution
Summary
Fly ash is a manufactured product that comes from coal burning power plants. EU countries produce two million tons of fly ash every year, but only a fraction of it is capitalized on. There is a serious issue associated with fly ash disposal because of its negative effects on air, water, and soil This type of material contains principally SiO2 and Al2O3 [1], elements that recommend the use of ash in a large spectrum of applications. Chemical precipitation is one of the methods that is most often used to remove copper ions, it has the disadvantage that it requires a large amount of chemicals in order to reduce metals to an allowable level for discharge [24]. Compared to the chemical precipitation technique, adsorption can remove metals over a wider pH range and at lower concentrations [25] It has been demonstrated by several studies that the chemical precipitation method is limited. Incomplete precipitation, the chemical instability of the precipitates, and the formation of large sludge volumes could occur [26]
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