Abstract
New research applications involving the use of cellulosic material derived from maize stalk for on-site treatment of leachate were evaluated for specific removal of Cu(II) and Fe(III) from real, highly polluted tailing pond and mine wastewater samples. Two major issues generated by anthropic mining activities were also tackled: wastewater metal content decrease to improve water quality and subsequently metal specific recovery, increasing the economic efficiency of metal production by using a green technology for residual management. Rapid saturation of the maize stalk mass determined in batch studies and the mine pilot experiment led to diminished metal concentrations in the second pilot experiment, where Cu(II) and Pb(II) from synthetic solutions were monitored in order to test biomaterial performances. In addition, in the second pilot experiment, maize stalk removed Pb(II) in the first 36 h, below the determination limit of the analytical method. The biomaterial bed in the column was saturated after 252 h of inflow solution. FTIR-ATR, TG and SEM techniques probed the interaction between maize stalk polar groups C=O, –OH, C–O and tailing water metallic ions by large FTIR band displacements, intensity decrease and shape changes, modification of thermal stability and by changes in the appearance of adsorbent microstructure images owing mainly to ion exchange mechanism.
Highlights
Water pollution with heavy metals, resulting from mining activities, is one of the global risks for human health due to the hydrological cycle and subsequent incorporation into the water supply and food chains
Most articles in the scientific literature are focused on the individual adsorption of metal ions by reutilized systems [33,34,35]
The performance of the adsorption system may be mostly evidenced in the multi-element mixture [19,36,37]
Summary
Water pollution with heavy metals, resulting from mining activities, is one of the global risks for human health due to the hydrological cycle and subsequent incorporation into the water supply and food chains. Due to the timely increase in industrialization, serious pollution of ecosystems may be witnessed, especially with heavy metals, including copper, cadmium, lead, arsenic and mercury, which are highly toxic and tend to accumulate in the environment. These metals are poisonous to humans, especially when their concentration is higher than the limits established by the World Health Organization. To improve adsorption capacity, activation and or process modifications may be done with different reagents. Due to their toxicity they may produce negative effect on the environment at the end of adsorption process. The maximum adsorption capacities were detected as 12.73 and 3.39 mg/g for the modified and unmodified stalk, respectively [12]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
