Biosorption of chromium (VI) from aqueous solution by seed powder of prickly pear (Opuntia ficus indica L.) fruits

ABSTRACT

The solid residue of the cold press oil extraction from prickly pear (Opuntia ficus indica L.) fruit seeds was evaluated as a low-cost biosorbent for biosorption of Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions. Batch experiments were conducted as a function of initial pH, contact time, biosorbent dose, initial Cr(VI) concentration, and temperature. Biosorption was highly pH-dependent and found to be maximum at pH 1.0. Langmuir and Freundlich equations fitted very well with experimental data. The maximum monolayer adsorption capacity was 19.61 mg/g at 298 K and pH 1.0. Biosorption kinetics was controlled by the pseudo-second-order model. Thermodynamic parameters indicated that biosorption of Cr(VI) was a spontaneous, favorable and endothermic process. The activation energy was found to be 40.68 kJ.mol^?1.     

超细氧化铬制备方法的研究进展

介绍了超细氧化铬粉体的用途、制备方法，着重介绍了超细氧化铬粉体近年来新的制备方法(包括微乳液法，溶胶-凝胶法，气体冷凝法，微波等离子法，激光诱导热解法，超临界流体脱溶法，机械化学法)及研究进展。分析了各种方法的利弊，以及以后的研究方向。     

Biosorption of Cu(II) onto agricultural materials from tropical regions

BACKGROUND: In Ghana, the discharge of untreated gold mine wastewater contaminates the aquatic systems with heavy metals such as copper (Cu), threatening ecosystem and human health. The undesirable effects of these pollutants can be avoided by treatment of the mining wastewater prior to discharge. In this work, the sorption properties of agricultural materials, namely coconut shell, coconut husk, sawdust and Moringa oleifera seeds for Cu(II) were investigated. RESULTS: The Freundlich isotherm model described the Cu(II) removal by coconut husk (R² = 0.999) and sawdust (R² = 0.993) very well and the Cu(II) removal by Moringa oleifera seeds (R² = 0.960) well. The model only reasonably described the Cu(II) removal by coconut shell (R² = 0.932). A maximum Cu(II) uptake of 53.9 mg g^?1 was achieved using the coconut shell. The sorption of Cu(II) onto coconut shell followed pseudo‐second‐order kinetics (R² = 0.997). FTIR spectroscopy indicated the presence of functional groups in the biosorbents, some of which were involved in the sorption process. SEM‐EDX analysis confirmed an exchange of Mg(II) and K(I) for Cu(II) on Moringa oleifera seeds and K(I) for Cu(II) on coconut shell. CONCLUSION: This study shows that coconut shell can be an important low‐cost biosorbent for Cu(II) removal. The results indicate that ion exchange, precipitation and electrostatic forces were involved in the Cu(II) removal by the biosorbents investigated. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Adsorption of trivalent chromium from aqueous solutions onto activated carbon

The adsorption of chromium (III) onto activated carbon was investigated as a possible alternative method for its removal from aqueous solutions. The adsorption data were obtained in a batch adsorber and fitted the Langmuir adsorption isotherm well. The effect of pH on the adsorption isotherm was investigated at pH values of 2, 4, 5 and 6. It was found that at pH values below 2 the Cr(III) was not adsorbed and at pH values above 6.4 the Cr(III) was precipitated as Cr(OH)₃. Maximum adsorption occurred at pH 5. The pH plays a very important role in the adsorption of Cr(III) since Cr(III) can form different complexes in aqueous solutions. The adsorption capacity was increased by about 20% as the temperature was raised from 25 to 40°C. It was concluded that Cr(III) is adsorbed to an appreciable extent on activated carbon and that the adsorption is highly dependent upon pH.     

Selective Biosorption of Zirconium and Hafnium from Acidic Aqueous Solutions by Rice Bran,Wheat Bran and Platanus Orientalis Tree Leaves

Abstract

The Zr(IV) and Hf(IV) biosorption characteristics of rice bran, wheat bran and Platanus orientalis tree leaves were examined as a function of initial pH, contact time, temperature, and initial metal ions concentration. Adsorption equilibriums were achieved in about 1, 5 and 40 min for rice bran, wheat bran, and leaves respectively. The biosorption behavior of leaves was significantly affected by solution pH whereas rice bran and wheat bran adsorption efficiencies were slightly affected by solution pH. The Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption equations, which are commonly used to describe sorption equilibrium for metals removal by biomasses, were use to represent the experimental and equilibrium data fitted well to the Langmuir isotherm model. The negative Gibbs free energy values obtained in this study with rice bran wheat bran and Platanus orientalis tree leaves confirmed the feasibility of the process and the spontaneous nature of sorption. In the optimum conditions, the adsorption efficiencies of other metal ions such as Fe³⁺, Cu²⁺, Pb²⁺, Hg²⁺, La³⁺, Ce³⁺ were significantly lower than Zr(IV) and Hf(IV) ions and these biomasses are excellent sorbents for the selective uptake of proposed ions from acidic aqueous solutions.     

Biosorption of hexavalent chromium from aqueous solutions using raw coconut fiber as a natural adsorbent

Abstract

This work aims to evaluate the Cr(VI) removal efficiency and adsorption capacity of the raw coconut fiber from synthetic aqueous solutions through the operational parameters as well as to represent the mechanisms of removal by kinetic and isotherm models. The experimental study was conducted in batch system and the optimum conditions for the adsorption of this metal by the biomass were according to: pH 2, contact time of 270?min, and 10?g/L of adsorbent dosage concentration. The removal efficiency obtained for Cr(VI) solutions was 99.2% at concentrations of 25–50?mg/L. For the highest concentrations, the removal decreased from 96.3% to 74.4%, when Cr(VI) solutions ranged from 100?mg/L to 250?mg/L, respectively. The adsorption kinetics was applied and showed a good agreement for pseudo-second-order and Elovich models, which point out a chemisorption. For the adsorption capacity at equilibrium conditions, the best fit was for the Redlich–Peterson isotherm indicating favorable adsorption and monolayer coverage.     

Toward optimisation of electrolytic reduction of solid chromium oxide to chromium powder in molten chloride salts

Electrochemical reduction of solid Cr₂O₃, in the form of an assembled cathode of porous pellets attached to a current collector, to chromium powder was investigated in molten CaCl₂ and a molten equimolar mixture of CaCl₂ and NaCl. The study focused on the influence of pellets preparation conditions, cell voltages and temperatures on the reduction process. Analyses were reported of the characteristics of the current-time plots of the constant voltage electrolysis under different conditions, cyclic voltammograms of solid Cr₂O₃ in the molten equimolar mixture of CaCl₂ and NaCl, the microstructures and elemental compositions of the reduced pellets. Particularly, attention was given to the intermediate product of the electrolysis, calcium chromites of various stoichiometries, aiming to achieve a better understanding and optimisation of the reduction process.     

金属铬粉对致密氧化铬材料烧结性能的影响

以Cr2O3微粉、TiO2微粉、金属铬粉为原料,聚乙烯醇(PVA)为结合剂,经喷雾造粒、冷等静压成型后,采用标准氮气和氧气的混合气体控制气氛,其氧分压分别控制在1 010、10.1 Pa,1 450 ℃保温3 h烧成,研究了金属铬粉加入量(其质量分数分别为0、0.5%、1.0%、1.5%和2.0%)对致密氧化铬材料烧结性能的影响.结果表明:添加0.5%的金属铬粉可明显降低试样内部氧分压,且由于此时氧化反应引起的膨胀小,致密氧化铬材料在1 010和10.1 Pa的较高氧分压下即可实现致密化烧结;致密氧化铬材料中引入的金属铬粉不宜过多,否则金属铬粉氧化发生的膨胀反应会导致材料的性能下降.     

Biosorption of phenolic compounds from aqueous solutions onto chitosan–abrus precatorius blended beads

BACKGROUND: This research focuses on understanding the biosorption process and developing a cost‐effective technology for the treatment of water contaminated with phenolic compounds (phenol, 2‐chlorophenol and 4‐chlorophenol), which are discharged into the aquatic environment from a variety of sources and are highly toxic. In order to remove phenolic compounds from water, a new biobased sorbent is developed, blending chitosan with abrus precatorius, both naturally occurring biopolymers. The resulting chitosan–abrus precatorius blended beads (CS/Ab) were characterized by Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) analysis, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques under batch equilibrium and column flow experimental conditions. The binding capacity of the biosorbent was investigated as a function of initial pH, contact time, initial concentration of adsorbate and dosage of adsorbent. RESULTS: The percentage removal of phenol, 2‐CP and 4‐CP increased with increasing adsorbent dose, while the adsorption capacity at equilibrium, q_e (mg g^?1) (amount of phenol, 2‐CP and 4‐CP loaded per unit weight of adsorbent) decreased. The equilibrium time was found to be 240 min for full equilibration of all adsorbates. Adsorption kinetic and isotherm studies showed that the pseudo‐first‐order model and the Langmuir isotherm were the best choices to describe the adsorption behaviors. The maximum monolayer adsorption capacity of phenol, 2‐CP and 4‐CP on to the (CS/Ab) beads was found to be 156 mg g^?1, 204 mg g^?1 and 278 mg g^?1, respectively. CONCLUSION: The experimental results suggested that (CS/Ab) blended beads are effective in the removal of phenolic compounds from aqueous medium. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

Surface grafting of polymers onto aramid powder: graft polymerization of vinyl monomers initiated by azo groups introduced onto the surface of aramid powder

The radical graft polymerization of vinyl monomers onto the surface of aramid powder, i.e., poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide) powder, initiated by azo groups introduced onto the surface was investigated. The introduction of azo groups onto the aramid surface was achieved by the reaction of surface acyl chloride groups, which were introduced by the treatment of aramid powder with adipoyl dichloride, with 2,2′-azobis[2-(2-imidazolyn-2-yl)propane] in the presence of pyridine: the amount of azo groups thus introduced onto the surface was determined to be 0.57 mmol/g by elemental analysis. It was found that the polymerizations of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and styrene were successfully initiated by the azo groups on the surface and that the corresponding polymers were grafted onto the surface. The percentage of surface grafting of polystyrene and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) increased up to 37.6 and 26.5%, respectively. Thermogravimetric analysis of polymer surface-grafted aramid powder confirmed that the grafting of polymers is limited on the surface. The polymerization rate was found to bear a first-order dependence on the concentration of aramid powder having azo groups. This suggests that in graft polymerization, unimolecular termination preferentially proceeds.     

Kinetics of methyl methacrylate grafting polymerization onto flaky aluminum powder

With ammonium persulfate (APS) as the initiator, the kinetics of methyl methacrylate (MMA) grafting polymerization onto flaky aluminum powder (Al) was studied. It was found that the experimental apparent grafting polymerization rate, R_g = KC × C × C, was basically consistent with the theoretical result based on the theory of stable polymerization and equivalent activity, R_g = KC × C × C_MMA. The activation energy of grafting, homogenous, and total polymerization rate was calculated as 65.1, 35.4, and 37.5 kJ mol^?1, respectively. It could be validated that the relationship among these activation energies accorded with the theoretical result of parallel reactions. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Chemical modification of pineapple leaf fiber: Graft copolymerization of acrylonitrile onto defatted pineapple leaf fibers

Graft copolymerization of acrylonitrile (AN) onto defatted pineapple leaf fiber (PALF) was studied using a CuSO₄ and KIO₄ combination as an initiator in an aqueous medium in the temperature range 30–50⁰C. The effects of the concentration of potassium periodate, CuSO₄, and monomer on the graft yield were investigated. The effects of time, temperature, amount of some inorganic salts, and organic solvents on the graft yield are also reported. A combination of Cu⁺²—IO in an aqueous medium with an IO concentration of 0.005 mol L⁻¹ and Cu⁺² concentration of 0.002 mol L⁻¹ produced optimum grafting for use of 0.1 g defatted PALF with a fiber‐to‐liquor ratio of 1:50 at 50⁰C for 2 h. However, KIO₄ and CuSO₄ failed to induce polymerization of AN in the presence of PALF when used separately. FTIR and thermogravimetric analysis of the defatted and AN‐grafted PALF were carried out. Grafting improved the thermal stability of PALF. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 77: 3035–3043, 2000     

Biosorption of chromium, copper and zinc on rice wine processing waste sludge in fixed bed

Wine processing waste sludge (WPWS) has shown effective removal of heavy metals in batch studies, but the adsorption in a fixed-bed WPWS column has not been examined and the mass transport in this column remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate: (1) the retardation factor (R) and the dispersion coefficient (D) of WPWS, employing one-dimensional convective–dispersive model with breakthrough curve (BTC) and using chromium, copper and zinc as the adsorbates; and (2) explore the adsorption mechanism of WPWS column for heavy metals. The retardation factor for various metal treatments is shown in the following order: Cr(18.3) > Cu(13.0) > Zn(7.2), indicating their binding affinity toward WPWS. The dispersion coefficients were calculated to be 2.36 × 10⁻⁶, 5.89 × 10⁻⁷ and 6.83 × 10⁻⁷ m² s⁻¹ for Cr, Cu and Zn treatments, respectively. The high charge density for Cr³⁺ ion makes it longer for the Cr column to attain exhaustion state, about 4.0 and 8.2 times the time required for the Cr and Zn columns. However, the least retardation and adsorption amount for Zn can be attributed to its full orbital in electronic configuration.     

Effects of process variables on kinetics of methylene blue sorption onto untreated guava (Psidium guajava) leaf powder: Statistical analysis

The sorption of methylene blue onto untreated guava leaf powder has been studied. The kinetics of sorption of methylene blue is described by pseudo-second-order model. Effects of initial dye concentration, solution temperature, and adsorbent dosage have been studied. The pseudo-second-order rate constant has been correlated as a function of the system variables. Statistical tools like Student's t-test, F-test, ANOVA and lack of fit have been employed to determine the significance of each coefficient that appeared in the model. Model adequacy has been checked by residual distribution. The proposed model explains 95.1% of the total variation in the response.     

Biosorption of basic violet 10 onto activated Gossypium hirsutum seeds:Batch and fixed-bed column studies

Sulphuric acid activated immature Gossypium hirsutum seed (AIGHS) was prepared to biosorbe basic violet 10 (BV10) from aqueous solutions. Methylene blue number, iodine number and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface analysis indicated that the AIGHS were hetero-porous. Boehm titrations and Fourier-transform infrared spectra demonstrated the chemical heterogeneity of the AIGHS surface. Batch biosorption studies were used to examine the effects of process parameters in the following range: pH 2-12, temperature 293-313 K, contact time 1-5 h and initial concentration 200-600 mg·L^-1. The matching of equilibrium data with the Langmuir-Freundlich formof isotherms indicated that the BV10 was adsorbed via chemisorption and pore diffusion. Kinetic investigation indicated multiple order chemisorption through an Avrami kinetic model. Film diffusion controlled the rate of BV10 biosorption onto AIGHS. The spontaneous and endothermic nature of sorptionwas corroborated by thermodynamic study. Continuous biosorption experimentswere performed using a fixed-bed column and the influence of operating parameters was explored for different ranges of initial concentration 100-300 mg·L^-1, bed height 5-10 cm, and flow rate 2.5-4.5 ml·min^-1. A dose response model accurately described the fixed-bed biosorption data. An external mass transfer correlation was formulated explaining BV10-AIGHS sorption.     

Plasma induced grafting of PSt onto titanium dioxide powder. II

Grafting of polystyrene (PSt) onto titanium dioxide powder was investigated in this study. The graft polymerization reaction was induced by N₂ plasma treatment of the surfaces of the titanium dioxide powder. IR and XPS results showed that PSt was grafted onto the titanium dioxide powder. The crystal structure of the titanium dioxide powder observed by XRD spectra was unchanged after plasma graft polymerization. In the grafting reaction, the grafting yield increased with the plasma power, the plasma treatment time, and the grafting reaction, but it increased first then decreased after reaching 50°C. The type of monomers also has an effect on the grafting yield. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 97: 2112–2117, 2005     

Grafting vinyl monomers onto silk fibers. II. Graft copolymerization of methyl methacrylate onto silk by hexavalent chromium ion

The feasibility of chromium(VI) to induce graft polymerization of methyl methacrylate onto silk was investigated. The rate of grafting was determined by varying monomer concentration, chromium(VI) concentration, temperature, acidity of the medium, nature of the silk, reaction medium, and redox system. The graft yield increased with increasing monomer concentration up to 0.65M, and with further increase of monomer the graft yield decreased. The graft yield increased with increasing chromium(VI) concentration. The grafting is considerably influenced by chemical modification of silk prior to grafting. The graft yield is influenced by thiourea concentration, decreasing with increasing thiourea concentration. The effect of certain inorganic salts and anionic surfactants on the rate of grafting was investigated.