Enhanced sequestration of chelated Cr(III) from aqueous by Al-containing ferrihydrite: New expectation of overall removal of various heavy metal complexes

Abstract

Industrial wastewater containing organic ligands and heavy metals is considered a serious public health threat, and its treatment and purification have become challenging tasks. Moreover, the organic-chelated heavy metals formed by common organic ligands and free heavy metals can cause many problems and concerns because of their poor biodegradability, high solubility, and extreme stability. In this study, aluminum-containing ferrihydrite (Fh-Al) adsorbents of different composition molar ratios were prepared and utilized to remove typical EDTA-Cr(III) in an aqueous system, and the associated removal mechanism was examined. The experimental results show that adding Al not only enhances the removal rate of EDTA-Cr(III) by the Fh-Al adsorbent in a wide pH range (pH = 3–9) but also increases the maximum adsorption capacity of EDTA-Cr(III). In addition, the specific surface area of Fh-Al can be increased by adding aluminum with different molar ratios, thus promoting its adsorption performance for EDTA-Cr(III). Furthermore, surface complexation and electrostatic attraction were proposed as possible mechanisms of EDTA-Cr(III) adsorption by Fh-Al. This study shows that Fh-Al-6 adsorbent can adsorb common EDTA-chelated heavy metals (such as EDTA-Pb, EDTA-Cr, EDTA-Cu and EDTA-Cd) in one step, with maximum adsorption capacities of 41.47, 32.33, 16.51 and 31.27 mg/g at pH = 3. The Fh-Al-6 adsorbent can be reused after being regenerated in a 2 g/L Na2SO4 solution. This study provides new expectations for treating wastewater containing organic groups and heavy metals.