The experimental study aimed to establish the potential applications of the nano- and micrometric powders of hydroxyapatite in the removal processes of Cu(II) ions from synthetic aqueous solutions. For this purpose, hydroxyapatite (HAP) was used in the form of: 1) nanometric powder (labeled nano-HAP), and 2) calcium alginate hydroxyapatite composite microparticles (nicro-HAP-CaAlg). Eggshells have been used as a raw material to obtain HAP. The contact time, pH and Cu(II) concentration in the initial solution have been the main process variables with influence on the Cu(II) ions removal by HAP samples. For both HAP based materials, an optimal pH value of 5 has been established. The nano-HAP powder has a higher Cu(II) adsorption capacity than micro-HAP-CaAlg based on the specific surface area values of nano- and micrometric powders. The adsorption isotherm experiments showed that this process can be described using Langmuir model according to which the adsorption takes place as a monolayer process on an homogeneous surface. The kinetic study revealed that the sorption process of Cu(II) from synthetic aqueous solutions can be described using the pseudo-second order kinetics model according to which the rate-determining step is chemisorption. The values of the retention capacity recommends both powders tested (nano-HAP and micro-HAP-CaAlg) to be used in the Cu(II) loaded water treatment process.
The aim of this research paper is to present a simple and efficient method to prepare zeolite materials from thermal power plant fly ash which is one of the most important waste resulted from power plants. The method of preparation of zeolite materials consists of alkaline activation followed by calcination at different temperatures. The zeolite materials prepared were studied by FT-IR spectroscopy, specific surface determination, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and particle size composition. XRF data indicated that the zeolites synthesized are characterized by Si/Al ratio between 1.21 and 1.26, being mainly composed of Na-P1 zeolite. The optimum conditions of cadmium ions removal process by adsorption onto zeolite materials have been determined. It was concluded that increase of calcination temperature has as result increase of specific surface area and cosequently the increase of sorption capacity. An equilibrium, kinetic and thermodynamic study has been performed. The high value of correlation coefficient for the Langmuir isotherm reveals that the Cd(II) sorption onto zeolite materials occurs as a monolayer coverage of Cd(II) ions on homogenous zeolite surface. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model fits the experimental results of the Cd(II) sorption onto zeolite materials processes. As a results, the mechanism involved in Cd(II) sorption onto zeolite materials is based on chemical reactions. The thermodynamic results indicate that the Cd(II) adsorption process is more encouraging at higher temperatures.The results established that valuable NaP1 zeolite materials with high adsorption capacity can be prepared from thermal power plant fly ash through a simple method. The materials prepared can be utilized to remediate cadmium ions-bearing wastewater.
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