An investigation on the amorphous zirconium phosphate compositing with cotton for the removal of heavy metal ions

Abstract

In this study, amorphous zirconium phosphate were synthesized (Am-ZrP) through a facile method and then composited with cotton fiber (Am-Co) for the utilization of heavy metal ions adsorptive elimination. In the research, Am-Co exhibited a higher adsorption capacities compared with Am-ZrP, with 85.69 mg/g for Cu2+, 30.73 mg/g for Ni2+, 56.74 mg/g for Cd2+. The adsorption kinetics of the adsorbents was extrapolated using pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the experimental data were found to fit pseudo-second-order more than pseudo-first-order. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm model were also applied in the study to reflect the interaction between adsorbate and adsorbent. In this research, the adsorption isotherm of Am-ZrP and Am-Co fitted the Langmuir model favorably. The results indicated that the Am-Co was a promising candidate for practical application in the treatment of wastewater contaminated by heavy metal ions.