Efficiency of succinylated-olive stone biosorbent on the removal of cadmium ions from aqueous solutions.

Chemical functionalization of olive stone wastes with succinate linkers can potentially improve the performance of wastewater treatment technologies via enhanced adsorption and high affinity of the covalently attached succinate groups for heavy metals. In this study, a novel reusable adsorbent material based on agricultural waste has been synthesized by esterifying the lignocellulosic matrix of olive stones with succinic anhydride in toluene under basic conditions. Characterization of the as-prepared material by FTIR and solid-state MAS (13)C NMR spectroscopies and TGA confirmed that the heterogeneous esterification has proceeded very efficiently to yield the succinylated-olive stone (S-OS). Subsequent alkaline treatment of S-OS with saturated NaHCO(3) aqueous solution led to the resulting sodic material (NaS-OS), which was subjected to batch experiments in order to evaluate its cadmium-removing efficiency from aqueous solutions at realistic concentrations of cadmium found in industrial effluents. The results obtained from the sorption characteristics have revealed that NaS-OS material is highly effective in removing cadmium from aqueous solutions, with a maximum uptake capacity of 200 mg g(-1) (1.78 mmol g(-1)). The Langmuir isotherm model was found to fit adequately the equilibrium isotherm data. Cadmium adsorption occurs rapidly and the adsorption mechanism is a chemical sorption via ionic exchange between the adsorbate and adsorbent. Thermodynamic parameters were also evaluated from the effect of temperature studies. Regenerability of NaS-OS material was ascertained by quantitative desorption of cadmium with 1M aqueous NaCl and the reusability of the matrix after five repeated cycles led to nearly no attenuation in its performance (less than 2% in the sorption capacity), indicating that repeated use of NaS-OS is quite feasible. Compared to other low-cost adsorbents utilized for the removal of Cd(II) from water/wastewater, NaS-OS shows higher sorption capacity. These results have important implications for the design of low-cost adsorbents based on agricultural wastes.

Succinate-bonded cellulose: a regenerable and powerful sorbent for cadmium-removal from spiked high-hardness groundwater.

The primary objective of this work was to evaluate a chemically modified cellulose for the sorption efficiency and selectivity to remove cadmium from spiked high-hardness groundwater. Heterogeneous esterification of cellulose with succinic anhydride in toluene under basic conditions has proceeded very efficiently to yield the succinylated cellulose (SC) with fairly high DS value, as confirmed by FTIR and solid-state MAS (13)C NMR spectroscopies. Deprotonation of the free carboxylic acid group was achieved by alkaline treatment of SC with saturated NaHCO(3) aqueous solution. Batch experiments were carried out on the resulting sodic material (NaSC) to examine its cadmium-removing capability in both distilled water (DW) and spiked groundwater (GW). The results obtained from the sorption characteristics (kinetics, isotherms and pH effect) have revealed that NaSC material is particularly effective in removing cadmium from both DW and GW solutions, with a maximum uptake of 185.2 and 178.6 mg g(-1), respectively. These comparable sorption capacities strongly suggest that NaSC sorbent is highly selective to heavy metal over alkaline earth cations (Ca(2+) and Mg(2+)) and therefore less susceptible to interference from background ions, naturally present in groundwater. On the other hand, cadmium sorption is shown to decrease with a decrease in pH which is indubitably inherent to the competing proton during the ion-exchange process. Furthermore, the material has proven to be efficiently regenerable by using a NaCl brine solution. Thus, the use of the sorbent sequentially to the first regeneration led to nearly no attenuation in the material's capacity for cadmium-removal. Finally, the sorption effectiveness of NaSC is compared to those of other low-cost sorbents so far reported in the literature.

Chemically modified olive stone: a low-cost sorbent for heavy metals and basic dyes removal from aqueous solutions.

In the present work, we have investigated the sorption efficiency of treated olive stones (TOS) towards cadmium and safranine removal from their respective aqueous solutions. TOS material was prepared by treatment of olive stones with concentrated sulfuric acid at room temperature followed up by a subsequent neutralization with 0.1 M NaOH aqueous solution. The resulting material has been thoroughly characterized by SEM, energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), MAS (13)C NMR, FTIR and physicochemical parameters were calculated. The sorption study of TOS at the solid-liquid interface was investigated using kinetics, sorption isotherms, pH effect and thermodynamic parameters. The preliminary results indicate that TOS exhibit a better efficiency in terms of sorption capacities toward the two pollutants (128.2 and 526.3 mg/g for cadmium and safranine, respectively) than those reported so far in the literature. Moreover, the sorption process is ascertained to occur fast enough so that the equilibrium is reached in less than 15 min of contact time. The results found in the course of this study suggest that ion exchange mechanism is the most appropriate mechanism involved in cadmium and safranine removal. Finally, the sorption efficiency of TOS is compared to those of other low-cost sorbents materials yet described in the literature.

Removal of lead from aqueous solutions with a treated spent bleaching earth.

A spent bleaching earth from an edible oil refinery has been treated by impregnation with a normal sodium hydroxide solution followed by mild thermal treatment (100 degrees C). The obtained material (TSBE) was washed, dried and characterized by X-ray diffraction, FTIR, SEM, BET and thermal analysis. The clay structure was not apparently affected by the treatment and the impregnated organic matter was quantitatively removed. We have investigated the sorption of lead on this material, the spent bleaching earth (SBE) and the virgin bleaching earth (VBE). The kinetic results fit the pseudo second-order kinetic model and the Weber & Morris, intraparticle diffusion model. The pH had effect on the sorption efficiency. The sorption isotherms followed the Langmuir model for various sorbent concentrations with good values of determination coefficient. A comparison between the results obtained with this material and those of the literature highlighted a good removal capacity of the treated spent bleaching earth at low cost.

Basic dye removal from aqueous solutions by dodecylsulfate- and dodecyl benzene sulfonate-intercalated hydrotalcite.

Dodecylsulfate- and dodecyl benzene sulfonate-hydrotalcites were prepared by calcination-rehydratation method. The surfactants intercalation in the interlayer space of hydrotalcite were checked by PXRD and FTIR spectroscopy where the resulting materials were found to be similar to those reported in the literature and were used to remove a basic dye (safranine) from aqueous solutions. The sorption kinetics data fitted the pseudo second order model. The isotherms were established and the parameters calculated. The sorption data fitted the Langmuir model with good values of the determination coefficient. The thermodynamic parameters calculated from Van't Hoff plots gave a low value of Delta G degrees (<-20 kJ mol(-1)) indicating a spontaneous physisorption process. Two regeneration cycles were processed by acetone extraction leading to the same removal capacity of the obtained materials as the original surfactant-intercalated hydrotalcites. The UV-vis spectra of the recovered extracts were similar to the spectrum of safranine, which means that the dye was recovered without any modification.

Removal of basic dyes from aqueous solutions with a treated spent bleaching earth.

A spent bleaching earth from an edible oil refinery was treated by impregnation with a normal sodium hydroxide solution followed by mild thermal treatment (100 degrees C). The obtained material (TSBE) was washed, dried, and characterized by X-ray diffraction, FTIR, SEM, BET, and thermal analysis. The clay structure was not apparently affected by the treatment and the impregnated organic matter was quantitatively removed. We have investigated the comparative sorption of safranine and methylene blue on this material, the spent bleaching earth (SBE), and the virgin bleaching earth (VBE). The kinetic results fit the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Weber and Morris intraparticle diffusion model. The pH had no effect on the sorption efficiency. The sorption isotherms followed the Langmuir model for various sorbent concentrations with good values of the determination coefficient. A linear relationship was found between the calculated maximum removal capacity and the solid/solution ratio. A comparison between the results obtained with this material and those of the literature highlighted the low cost and the good removal capacity of treated spent bleaching earth.