Examination of Adsorption Abilities of Natural and Acid Activated Bentonite for Heavy Metals Removal from Aqueous Solutions

Abstract

The effect of the initial concentration of Cr, Co, Cu, Ni, and Pb metal ions from multicomponent solutions on the sorption capacity of natural and acid activated bentonite was examined in this paper. The acid activation was performed by using hydrochloric and sulfuric acid at different concentrations. The results of adsorption research have shown that bentonite can be effectively used as an adsorbent for the removal of metal ions from multicomponent solutions. Acid activation of bentonite changes the structure and content of individual oxides, increases the porosity and the number of available spots for the adsorption process. For this reason, the bentonite removal efficiency increased after acid activation for all heavy metals tested. With increased acid concentration, the degree of bentonite adsorption increased, and sulfuric acid rather than chloric acid showed better results in removal efficiency.