Sorption of copper and zinc in metabasalt powder at different pH and contact times

Abstract

Metabasalt powder has been suggested as an agent to fix metals. The present study aimed to test the metal sorption onto metabasalt powder at different pH conditions and contact times in order to define the optimal conditions to ad/desorb copper and zinc. A competitive assay was performed using 8,945 mg/kg of copper and 11,518 mg/kg of zinc. Copper adsorption was 40.8% and 99.1% of the total concentration at pH 4.0 and 7.0, respectively, while the amounts of adsorbed zinc were 58% and 68% of the total concentration at pH 6.0 and 7.0. The maximum copper and zinc desorption magnitudes from the metabasalt were observed at pH 6.4 and 7.0, respectively, but the amounts did not represent half of the total adsorbed. These findings allow choosing effective parameter levels when metabasalt is used as an absorbent agent.