Experimental and numerical study for the adsorption behavior of Cu(II) and Mn(II) in quartz sand

Abstract

Heavy metals such as Cu(II) and Mn(II) are prevalent in the environment. The effect of heavy metals on the soils environment is based on the ability of soils to mobilize these contaminants. According to the soil decontamination perspective, examining the reaction technique between heavy metals and soil is indispensable. This study carried out experiments to investigate Cu(II) and Mn(II) adsorption behaviour in quartz sand. The isothermal adsorption results for Cu(II) and Mn(II) presented that the adsorption capacity reached the peak value when the initial concentration was about 10 mg/L. The declines of H+ ions could uprise the adsorption rate activity for Cu(II) and Mn(II) and decrease the soil ability of the desorption for Cu(II) and Mn(II) ions. The adsorption rate of Cu(II) and Mn(II) is lower than the desorption rate under the situation of a low pH range with a solid acidic and low concentration of Cu(II) and Mn(II). The Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption isotherm models were applied to investigate the adsorption isotherm of Cu(II) and Mn(II). The study results confirmed that the Freundlich model synchronous the best with the observed experimental data compared with the Langmuir solution.