Separation of Cd (II) from aqueous solution by keratin magnetic froth carbon in the batch and continuous system

Abstract

Removal uptake of cadmium Cd (II) from aqueous solution using keratin magnetic froth carbon (KMFC) prepared from molasses of the sugarcane industry was studied in the batch and column system. KMFC was characterized by Scanning electron microscope (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (BET), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) analyses. In the batch system, the maximum sorption capacity (198.80 mg/g) was obtained at pH 5 and equilibrium sorption time (80 min) and the sorption results are well-fitting with Freundlich and pseudo-second-order models. Whereas the maximum removal efficiency (65%) with sorption capacity (236.2 mg/g) was obtained at column operational circumstances of 15 mL/min flow rate, 6 cm bed depth and 100 mg/L Cd (II) concentration. The higher values of R2 > 0.98 with relatively lesser values of Error analysis EA ≤ 0.66 × 103 indicated a well-fitting of the Thomas model with the experimental sorption outcomes than Adams-Bohart and Yoon-Nelson kinetic models. Renewal and recycling of KMFC indicate that KMFC has a reputable efficiency of up to 7 cycles.