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Comparison of aluminum and iron nanoparticles for chromium removal from aqueous solutions and tannery wastewater, empirical modeling and prediction

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Abstract

The tanning industry is considered one of the main sources of pollution. This study aims to investigate the efficiency of nano zero-valent iron (nZVI) and the nano zero-valent aluminum (nZVAl) particles for the removal of chromium (Cr) from aqueous solutions and tannery wastewater. For the aqueous solutions, the maximum removal efficiency of 5 mg/L Cr reached 81.2% using nZVAl and 77.6% using nZVI, under the following conditions: time 20 min, pH 3, stirring rate 200 rpm, and dosage 0.6 g/L. The adsorption data for chromium removal using nZVAl and nZVI fitted well to the Freundlich and Koble-Corrigan models, respectively. For both nanometals, the kinetic data fitted well to pseudo second order (PSO). Response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN) models with r2-value higher than 0.95 were found to be accurate in predicting chromium removal efficiency using both nanometals. The synthesized nZVI and nZVAl particles were applied to real tannery wastewater samples. The removal efficiencies of biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), and arsenic (As) using both nZVAl and nZVI exceeded 98%. For total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), and hydrogen sulfide (H2S), nZVI demonstrated a higher removal efficiency compared to nZVAl. A significant increase was also reported for Cr removal, reaching 70% using nZVI and 74% using nZVAl.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by Housing and Building Research Center (HBRC) especially Prof Dr. Khalid Mohamed Yousri Prof Dr. Amr Hefnawy, and Prof Dr. Khaled El Zahaby, and Badr University in Cairo (BUC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sanitary and Environmental Institute (SEI), Housing and Building National Research Center (HBRC), Giza, Egypt

    M. S. Mahmoud, Ahmed S. Mahmoud & Mohamed Ali El-Said

  2. Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Badr University in Cairo (BUC), Cairo, Egypt

    Mohamed K. Mostafa

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Supplementary information

Supplementary Table 1

contains the results of experimental and calculated Qe (mg/g) for all nonlinear isotherm models after using nZVI and nZVAl for chromium removal. (DOCX 17 kb)

Supplementary Table 2

contains the results of experimental and calculated Qt (mg/mg) for chromium removal using nZVI and nZVAl. (DOCX 13 kb)

Supplementary Table 3

contains the errors mathematical equation. (DOCX 13 kb)

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Mahmoud, M.S., Mahmoud, A.S., El-Said, M.A. et al. Comparison of aluminum and iron nanoparticles for chromium removal from aqueous solutions and tannery wastewater, empirical modeling and prediction. emergent mater. 5, 1729–1744 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42247-021-00320-4

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