Modified composites based on mesostructured iron oxyhydroxide and synthetic minerals: a potential material for the treatment of various toxic heavy metals and its toxicity.

The composites of mesostructured iron oxyhydroxide and/or commercial synthetic zeolite were investigated for use in the removal of toxic heavy metals, such as cadmium, copper, lead and arsenic, from aqueous solution. Four types of adsorbents, dried alginate beads (DABs), synthetic-zeolite impregnated beads (SZIBs), meso-iron-oxyhydroxide impregnated beads (MIOIBs) and synthetic-zeolite/meso-iron-oxyhydroxide composite beads (SZMIOIBs), were prepared for heavy metal adsorption tests. Laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate the removal efficiencies of cations and anions of heavy metals and the possibility of regenerating the adsorbents. Among these adsorbents, the MIOIBs can simultaneously remove cations and anions of heavy metals; they have high adsorption capacities for lead (60.1mgg(-1)) and arsenic (71.9mgg(-1)) compared with other adsorbents, such as DABs (158.1 and 0.0mgg(-1)), SZIB (42.9 and 0.0mgg(-1)) and SZMIOIB (54.0 and 5.9mgg(-1)) for lead and arsenic, respectively. Additionally, the removal efficiency was consistent at approximately 90%, notwithstanding repetitive regeneration. The characteristics of meso-iron-oxyhydroxide powder were confirmed by X-ray diffraction, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller and transmission electron microscopy. We also performed a comparative toxicity study that indicated that much lower concentrations of the powdered form of mesostructured iron oxyhydroxide had stronger cytotoxicity than the granular form. These results suggest that the granular form of meso iron oxyhydroxide is a more useful and safer adsorbent for heavy metal treatment than the powdered form. This research provides promising results for the application of MIOIBs as an adsorbent for various heavy metals from wastewater and sewage.

Surface modified mesostructured iron oxyhydroxide: synthesis, ecotoxicity, and application.

Mesoporous iron oxide, particularly amine-functionalized FeO(x) and FeO(x), was investigated for the removal of toxic heavy metal anions of arsenic and chromium from an aqueous solution. As a control experiment for these toxic compounds, adsorption tests were also performed on Fe3O4 as their counterpart bulk chemical. The mesostructures were confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In addition, we prepared stock suspensions of meso-FeO(x), amine-functionalized meso-FeO(x) and Fe3O4 particles, and compared their acute toxicity against Daphnia magna. The 24 h-EC50 values of the amine-functionalized meso-FeO(x), meso-FeO(x) and Fe particle suspensions used in this study were 1682, 2549 and 95 mg/L, respectively. Organism toxicity caused by spills of adsorbents can be negated when the amine-functionalized meso-FeO(x), up to 1500 mg/L, is used as the adsorbent for heavy metal treatment. The adsorption of arsenic and chromium by the three adsorbents were examined, and different adsorption models were used to describe the equilibrium and kinetic data. The amine-functionalized meso-FeO(x) adsorbent was found to give the maximum adsorption capacities for arsenic and chromium (33.51 and 25.05 mg/g, respectively). This research gives promising results for the application of modified meso-FeO(x) as an adsorbent of toxic heavy metal anions from aqueous solutions.