Using nano-magnesium oxide/bentonite composite for cadmium removal from industrial wastewater

Abstract

Nowadays, the removal of toxic heavy metals from industrial wastewater is a long standing problem due to the industrial progress worldwide. This study mainly focused on the production of a novel nMgO-bentonite nanocomposite using sol–gel method to enhance Cd ions removal from industrial wastewater. The nMgO-bentonite nano-composite was characterized for structural morphology and presence of functional groups using SEM/EDS, XRD and FTIR analysis. Cadmium sorption equilibrium and kinetic data were well fitted to Langmuir and power function models respectively as confirmed by the highest R2 (0.965), and the lowest SE (38*10-6) values among other studied models. The Langmuir removal capacity of the nanocomposite is 200 mg/g which is 60 times greater than that of bentonite. Increased Cd sorption on nano-composite with increased temperature from 287 to 307K and the thermodynamic results revealed that Cd adsorption process was endothermic and spontaneous. The data also showed highly repetitive application of nano-composite during six cycles of adsorption/ desorption experiment. The final results pointed out that nMgO-bentonite nano-composite has great adsorption affinity for Cd and could potentially employ as a cost-effective, ecofriendly and efficient sorbent for Cd removal from contaminated wastewater.