Activated carbon based on cherry kernel shell and a new composite of lacunary K10P2W17O61/activated carbon for removal of Cd(II) from aqueous solutions

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Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Department of Chemistry, Atomic Energy Commission of Syria (AECS), Damascus, Syria.

2 Department of Physics, Atomic Energy Commission of Syria (AECS), Damascus, Syria

Abstract

There is still an urgent need to develop new materials for removing heavy metal elements from polluted water bodies. In the present study, a new composite of activated carbon loaded lacunary phosphotungstate (LPW) was produced for removing Cd(II) from aqueous solutions. The activated carbon (AC) was prepared on the basis of cherry kernel shell (CKS) treated with concentrated H2SO4 (98%) followed by thermal activation at 800°C. The ACCKS and LPWAC were characterized in terms of ash content, bulk density, and moisture content. The functional groups, morphological, and surface area of the produced materials were studied using FTIR, SEM-EDX, and BET techniques, respectively. LPWAC was prepared as an ultrafine powder (<1 μm) containing 3.3% of the LPW. The LPWAC was consisted of carbon (53.87%), tungsten (28.40%) and oxygen (11.41%), while ACCKS contained major amount of carbon (72.87%) and oxygen (16.88%). The kinetic study of Cd(II) adsorption on both of LPWAC and ACCKS materials followed pseudo-second order. The Cd(II) adsorption data fitted well with Langmuir model. The maximum adsorption capacity for LPWAC and ACCKS alone at 100 mg Cd(II)/mL and 25°C was 8.734 mg/g and 7.593 mg/g, respectively, while these values were 9.931 mg/g and 8.507 mg/g at 80°C, respectively. Positive values of ΔHo and ΔSo showed the endothermic nature and increased randomness of the Cd(II) adsorption process. The negative values of ∆G° for LPWAC composite indicated the spontaneous reaction, while the positive ∆G° values for ACCKS indicated an existing of energy barrier during the adsorption process. The adsorption of Cd(II) on ACCKS and LPWAC materials was physicochemical process. The desorption ability of Cd(II) ions from both materials was obtained using HNO3 ≥ 0.5M. According to these results both LPWAC composite and ACCKS alone could have potential applications in removing Cd(II) ions from aqueous solutions.

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Iranian Journal of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 05 July 2023

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