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Removal of heavy metal ions from aqueous solution by zeolite synthesized from fly ash

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Abstract

Zeolite was synthesized from coal fly ash by a fusion method and was used for the removal of heavy metal ions (Pb2+, Cd2+, Cu2+, Ni2+, and Mn2+) in aqueous solutions. Batch method was employed to study the influential parameters such as adsorbent dosage, pH, and coexisting cations. Adsorption isotherms and kinetics studies were carried out in single-heavy and multiheavy metal systems, respectively. The Langmuir isotherm model fitted to the equilibrium data better than the Freundlich model did, and the kinetics of the adsorption were well described by the pseudo-second-order model, except for Cd2+ and Ni2+ ions which were fitted for the pseudo-first-order model in the multiheavy metal system. The maximum adsorption capacity and the distribution coefficients exhibited the same sequence for Pb2+ > Cu2+ > Cd2+ > Ni2+ > Mn2+ in both single- and multiheavy metal systems. In the end, the adsorption capacity of zeolite was tested using industrial wastewaters and the results demonstrated that zeolite could be used as an alternative adsorbent for the removal of heavy metal ions from industrial wastewater.

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Abbreviations

XRF:

X-ray fluorescence

XRD:

X-ray diffraction

SEM:

Scanning electron microscope

BET:

Brunauer Emmet teller

FTIR:

Fourier transform infrared

AAS:

Atomic adsorption spectrophotometer

CEC:

Cation exchange capacity

LOI:

Loss on ignition

R :

Removal efficiency

K d :

Distribution coefficients

R 2 :

correlation coefficients

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Acknowledgments

The research was financially supported by grants from the Guangdong Province Science and Technology Project (Nos. 2013B090200016 and 2013B021000008), Joint Fund of Guangdong Province (No. U1401235), Major Science and Technology program for the Industry-Academia-Research collaborative Innovation of Guangzhou, and the Electric Power Research Institute of Guangdong Grid Co (No. K-GD2013-0501).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Ecological Remediation for Industrial Agglomeration Area, State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering, New Energy Research Institute, School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou, 510006, People’s Republic of China

    Kuang He, Yuancai Chen, Zhenghua Tang & Yongyou Hu

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  1. Kuang He
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  2. Yuancai Chen
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  3. Zhenghua Tang
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  4. Yongyou Hu
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Correspondence to Yuancai Chen.

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He, K., Chen, Y., Tang, Z. et al. Removal of heavy metal ions from aqueous solution by zeolite synthesized from fly ash. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 2778–2788 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5422-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5422-6

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