Removal of Cr (VI) from aqueous solution by newspapers

The potential to remove Cr (VI) ions from aqueous solution using newspapers was investigated in the present study. The effects of relevant parameters such as solution pH, adsorbent concentration, and reaction temperature on Cr (VI) adsorption were examined. The adsorption of Cr (VI) ions onto newspapers was found to be highly pH-dependent and the highest uptake occurred at pH 1.0. The sorption equilibrium data were correlated to the Langmuir, Freundlich, Redlich-Peterson and Dubinin-Radushkevich equations. Five different non-linear error functions were examined and the result indicated that the Freundlich and Redlich-Peterson equations better fitted the equilibrium data than Langmuir isotherm. The maximum sorption capacity was found to be 55.06 mg/g at pH 1.0, adsorbent concentration 4 g/L and reaction temperature of 30 °C. Different thermodynamic parameters viz., changes in standard free energy (ΔG⁰), enthalpy (ΔH⁰) and entropy (ΔS⁰) were also evaluated and the results show that the sorption process was spontaneous and endothermic in nature. The kinetic experimental data were well fitted by the pseudo-second order, external film diffusion and diffusion models allowing the corresponding parameters to be evaluated. The sorption capacity increased with the decrease of adsorbent concentration.