Abstract
The aim of the research was to prepare low-cost adsorbents, including raw date pits and chemically treated date pits, and to apply these materials to investigate the adsorption behavior of Cr(III) and Cd(II) ions from wastewater. The prepared materials were characterized using SEM, FT-IR and BET surface analysis techniques for investigating the surface morphology, particle size, pore size and surface functionalities of the materials. A series of adsorption processes was conducted in a batch system and optimized by investigating various parameters such as solution pH, contact time, initial metal concentrations and adsorbent dosage. The optimum pH for achieving maximum adsorption capacity was found to be approximately 7.8. The determination of metal ions was conducted using atomic adsorption spectrometry. The experimental results were fitted using isotherm Langmuir and Freundlich equations, and maximum monolayer adsorption capacities for Cr(III) and Cd(II) at 323 K were 1428.5 and 1302.0 mg/g (treated majdool date pits adsorbent) and 1228.5 and 1182.0 mg/g (treated sagai date pits adsorbent), respectively. It was found that the adsorption capacity of H2O2-treated date pits was higher than that of untreated DP. Recovery studies showed maximal metal elution with 0.1 M HCl for all the adsorbents. An 83.3–88.2% and 81.8–86.8% drop in Cr(III) and Cd(II) adsorption, respectively, were found after the five regeneration cycles. The results showed that the Langmuir model gave slightly better results than the Freundlich model for the untreated and treated date pits. Hence, the results demonstrated that the prepared materials could be a low-cost and eco-friendly choice for the remediation of Cr(III) and Cd(II) contaminants from an aqueous solution.
Highlights
IntroductionThe identification of toxic elements, in water, has grown into a key issue of public interest [1]
Over the last decade, the identification of toxic elements, in water, has grown into a key issue of public interest [1]
The SEM micrographs revealed that the treated date pits (TMDP, TSDP) were of higher porosity compared to the raw material (MDP, SDP)
Summary
The identification of toxic elements, in water, has grown into a key issue of public interest [1]. Heavy metals can be transported into the human body via many sources, for instance, water, air, skin and food, and can become more lethal in the human body when they are not completely digested and stored in the muscle [15,16] They may damage various vital human organs such as gastrointestinal, kidneys, bones, endocrine glands and central nervous system [17,18,19,20]. A few heavy metals are important for life and show a unique role in the metabolic system of human beings, for instance, the functioning of of acute enzyme locations; they can damage the organism in higher amounts [22] Based on their carcinogenicity in experimental animals, some heavy metals (cadmium, arsenic, nickel and chromium) have been categorized as probable human carcinogens (Group 1) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) [23]
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