Enhanced chromium (VI) removal using activated carbon modified by zero valent iron and silver bimetallic nanoparticles

Abstract

Recently, adsorption process has been introduced as a favorable and effective technique for the removal of metal ions from aqueous solutions. In the present study, bimetallic nanoparticles consisting of zero valent iron and silver were loaded on the activated carbon powder for the preparation of a new adsorbent (PAC-Fe°/Ag). The above adsorbent was characterized by using XRD, SEM and TEM techniqes. Experimental data were exploited for kinetic, equilibrium and thermodynamic evaluations related to the adsorption processes. The Cr(VI) adsorption process was found to be favorable at pH 3 and it reached equilibrium state within 60 min. The stirring rate did not have a significant effect on the adsorption efficiency. Furthermore, the monolayer adsorption capacity of Cr(VI) based on the Langmuir model was measured to be 100 mg/g. The experimental equilibrium data were fitted to the Freundlich adsorption and pseudo second-order models. According to the thermodynamic study, the adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic in nature, indicating the adsorption capacity increases with increasing the temperature. The results also revealed that the synthesized composite can be potentially applied as a magnetic adsorbent to remove Cr(VI) contaminants from aqueous solutions.