Abstract
Ferrodirome slag (FeCr-GP) and gold mine tailings (GMT-GP) based geopolymers were synthesized and used as adsorbents of heavy metals in aqueous solutions. Batchwise adsorption experiments were used to determine the effect of solid loading (S/L), temperature and time on the adsorption of Cu, Ni and Mn. X-ray diffraction studies showed that GMT-GP was amorphous with calcium aluminium silicate hydrate as the geopolymerization product leading to an increased surface area while GMT-GP had a significant reduction in the intensity of crystalline peaks as compared to the precursor. FeCr-GP could adsorb above 99% of the metal ions (Cu2+, Ni2+ and Mn2+) in solution with an initial metal concentration of 400 ppm at 298, while GMT-GP could only adsorb at least 98% of the metal with an initial metal concentration of 200 ppm. The adsorption was accompanied by a pH rise from 2.3 to 4.5 and 4.8 for GMT-GP and FeCr-GP, respectively. The maximum adsorption capacity of FeCr-GP was double that of GMT-GP. FeCr-GP could be desorbed using HCl and reverse osmosis water and could be used for a further three cycles without significant loss in adsorbing ability, while desorption of GMT-GP resulted a reduction in adsorption capability.
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Abbreviations
- b:
-
a constant related to Langmuir enthalpy of adsorption [L/g]
- Co :
-
initial metal ion concentration (ppm)
- Ct :
-
metal ion concentration after t minutes of adsorption [ppm]
- k1 :
-
pseudo first order constant [min−1]
- k2 :
-
pseudo second order constant [g/min·mg]
- KF :
-
Freundlich constant related to adsorption intensity [L/mg]
- n:
-
Freundlich adsorption intensity
- qt :
-
amount of metal ion adsorbed per mass of adsorbent after t minutes of adsorption [mg/g]
- qe :
-
amount of metal ion adsorbed per mass of adsorbent at equilibrium of adsorption [mg/g]
- qm :
-
maximum adsorption capacity
- t:
-
time [mins]
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Acknowledgements
The author is grateful to the University of South Africa (UNISA) and the South African National Research Foundation for granting the primary author the DSI/NRF Freestanding Postdoctoral Fellowship.
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T Falayi supervised the experimental work and wrote the article. BD Ikotun supervised the laboratory work and approved the final manuscript.
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The authors’ research is funded by the South African National Research Foundation under the DSI/NRF Freestanding Postdoctoral Fellowship (PDG190226421150).
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The datasets supporting the conclusions of this article are available in the supplementary material.
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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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Additional information as noted in the text. This information is available via the Internet at http://www.springer.com/chemistry/journal/11814.
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A comparison between ferrochrome slag and gold mine tailings based geopolymers as adsorbents for heavy metals in aqueous solutions: Analyzing reusability and sustainability
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Falayi, T., Ikotun, B.D. A comparison between ferrochrome slag and gold mine tailings based geopolymers as adsorbents for heavy metals in aqueous solutions: Analyzing reusability and sustainability. Korean J. Chem. Eng. 38, 816–825 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-020-0731-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-020-0731-y