Abstract
The aquatic environments can be contaminated by various metal ions, including Fe3+, Pb2+, Cr6+. In order to capture these ions the industry commonly uses different natural adsorbents or chemically treated. Based on this approach, this work aimed to treat diatomite with a micelle solution and microemulsion systems, formulated with UNITOL L-90, n-butanol, kerosene and distilled water. The diatomite treated with micelle solution did not provide a significant improvement in removal efficiency, reaching 62% for Fe3+, 58% for Pb2+ and 47% for Cr6+. While the diatomite treated with microemulsion had a substantial increase in the capture percentage reaching 99% of Fe3+, 65% for Pb2+ and 66% for Cr6+. Therefore, based on the results it is clear that surfactant is incorporated to diatomite when a microemulsion system is applied, enhancing the use of this systems in water treatment process. The ethoxylate groups present in the diatomite modified with the microemulsion were fundamental to improve the adsorption capacity of the Fe3+, Pb2+ and Cr6+ ions.
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