Removal of copper from Water by Zeolite Y and Perlite
Abstract
Abstract:
Zeolite is the well-known naturally occurring adsorbent composed of aluminosilicate, which aids in the separation and purification technologies and environmental pollution control. It is being employed in numerous industrial applications due to its fast-heavy metals cation exchangeability and molecular sieve structure, making it stand out among other adsorbents. In an effort to reduce the cost of zeolite disposal, synthetic and natural zeolite were used in various ways environmental treatment technologies. Work has been done to identify several ways to make it cost-effective. The advantages and disadvantages of its properties were comprehensively discussed in this report.
Copper (Cu2+) has gained a lot of consideration in the past few years among other divalent heavy metals, owing to its toxic nature and carcinogenicity. This study investigates the removal of copper from water sources by the application of an efficient and cost-effective aluminosilicate-based adsorbent, i.e., amorphous volcanic glass (aka. Perlite) and zeolite. Different catalyst dosages were loaded in the sample, and the adsorption experiments were investigated accordingly. The pH and conductivity were also gauged periodically and have been reported in the following sections. Crystal structure and surface morphology of synthesized adsorbent was revealed by characterization techniques such as XRD. Adsorbent efficiency by means of the leaching method was analyzed through Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) analysis under different controlled environments. Subsequently, a kinetic model was developed to explain the underlying mechanism. Moreover, FTIR revealed the functional groups of Zeolite Y and Perlite responsible for the adsorption phenomena.
A kinetic study was also conducted to demonstrate the suitability of zeolite Y for the removal of copper from the water. Several batch studies were conducted to study the effect of various
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parameters on the removal of copper, such as adsorbent concentration, pH, exposure time, initial solution concentration, and speed of agitation.
The results of the kinetic study reveal that the adsorption capacity of zeolite Y and perlite increases with higher pH initial concentration, adsorbent dose, and agitation speed. Equilibrium experiments show that the adsorption capacity of zeolite Y increases with the higher pH values of the solution. This makes zeolite Y and perlite a promising adsorbent for the removal of copper sulfate.