Two-Stage Adsorber Design for Methylene Blue Removal by Coconut Shell Activated Carbon

The present work was aimed at evaluating the performance of two-stage adsorber for methylene blue removal by coconut shell activated carbon in minimizing the adsorbent mass and contact time. The Langmuir constants were used to evaluate the optimum mass, while the pseudo-second-order constants for contact time. Results show that the adsorbent mass can only be minimized by 0.01 % due to the high adsorbent affinity towards methylene blue, while the contact time has been optimized to 12.2 min at the studied conditions. The effect of adsorbent affinity in two-stage adsorber was analyzed to shed some light about its importance in the design of two-stage adsorber. The performance evaluation was also discussed to bring insight into wastewater treatment applications.

Adsorption of Iron (II) Ion by Using Magnetite-Bentonite-Based Monolith from Water

In this study, iron removal was carried out by the adsorption process as a well-known method of removing heavy metal. Natural bentonite with magnetic properties in a monolithic form or Magnetite-Bentonite-based Monolith (MBM) adsorbent was used as an adsorbent to remove Iron (II) ion from the aqueous solution. The magnetic properties of adsorbents are obtained by adding magnetite (Fe3O4), which is synthesized by the coprecipitation process. The characterization of magnetic properties was performed using the Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM). VSM results showed that the magnetic particles were ferromagnetic. Adsorption efficiency, isotherm model, and adsorption kinetics were investigated in a batch system with iron solution concentration varied from 2 to 10 mg/L and magnetite loading at 2% and 5% w/w. The highest removal efficiency obtained reached 89% with a 5% magnetite loading. The best fit to the data was obtained with the Langmuir isotherm (non-linear) with maximum monolayer adsorption capacity (Qo) at 5% magnetic loading MBM adsorbent is 0.203 mg/g with Langmuir constants KL and aL are 2.055 L/g and 10.122 L/mg respectively. The pseudo-first-order (non-linear) kinetic model provides the best correlation of the experimental data with the rate of adsorption (k1) with magnetite loading 2% and 5%, respectively are 0.024 min-1 and 0.022 min-1.

Adsorption of Mercury(II) Ion in Aqueous Solution by Using Bentonite-Based Monolith

The removal of mercury from the waterbody remains a severe challenge in ensuring environmental safety due to its highly toxic and non-biodegradable properties. Adsorption is an evidently effective method for heavy metal removal in water. This research aims to study the mercury (II) ion adsorption behavior in aqueous solution onto extruded natural bentonite in monolithic structure, bentonite-based monolith (BBM) adsorbent. BBM was characterized by XRD, BET, and SEM, the results verify BBM could improve adsorption performance assumed on its structure. Adsorption efficiency, isotherm model, and adsorption kinetic were investigated. Experiments were performed in a lab-scale batch reactor with mercury solution concentration varied from 1 to 5 mg/L. The maximum adsorption efficiency discovered to be 63,9%. The experimental data fitted well to Langmuir isotherm (non-linear) and kinetic model pseudo first order (non-linear), revealing the maximum monolayer capacity (Qo) of BBM to be 0,187 mg/g with Langmuir constants KL and aL are 0,215 L/g dan 1,151 L/mg respectively. These value confirms that BBM adsorbent encompasses tremendous potential for mercury (II) ion removal in a solution.

Parametric, equilibrium and kinetic studies on the removal of mercury using ion exchange resin

This experimental research was an investigation into removal of mercury by using a strong acid cation resin, 001 × 7. Parametric experiments were conducted to determine the optimum pH, resin dosage, agitation speed and the effect of change in concentration in the range of 50–200 mg/L. High resin dosages favoured better removal efficiency but resulted in lower uptakes. Equilibrium experiments were performed and fitted to Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. Langmuir model suited well to this study confirming the homogeneity of the resin surface. The Langmuir constants were estimated as qmax = 110.619 mg/g and KL = 0.070 L/g at 308 K. Kinetic experiments were modeled using Pseudo second order model and higher values of R2 (>0.97) were obtained. The Pseudo second order kinetic constants, namely, equilibrium uptake (qe) and rate constant (k2), were evaluated as 59.17 mg/g and 40.2 × 10−4 g mg−1 min−1 at an initial mercury concentration of 100 mg/L and temperature of 308 K.

Study of interaction and adsorption of aromatic amines by manganese oxides and their role in chemical evolution

The role of manganese oxides in concentrating organic moieties and offering catalytic activity for prebiotic reactions is investigated by studying their interaction with different aromatic amines such as aniline, p-chloroaniline, p-toluidine and p-anisidine. For all amines, metal oxides showed highest adsorption at neutral pH. The order of their adsorption capacity and affinity as revealed by the Langmuir constants was found to be manganosite (MnO) > bixbyite (Mn2O3) > hausmannite (Mn3O4) > and pyrolusite (MnO2). At alkaline pH, these manganese oxides offered their surfaces for oxidation of amines to form coloured oligomers. Analysis of the oxidation products by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry showed the formation of a dimer from p-anisidine and p-chloroaniline, while a trimer and tetramer is formed from p-toluidine and aniline, respectively. A reaction mechanism is proposed for the formation of the oligomers. While field-emission scanning electron microscopic studies confirm the binding phenomenon, the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis suggests that the mechanism of binding of amines on the manganese oxides was primarily electrostatic. The adsorption behaviour of the studied aromatic amines followed the order: p-anisidine > p-toluidine > aniline > p-chloroaniline, which is related to the basicities and structure of the amines. Our studies confirmed the significance of the role of manganese oxides in prebiotic chemistry.

Possible role of Prussian blue nanoparticles in chemical evolution: interaction with ribose nucleotides

Ribonucleotides (RMPs) are the building blocks of genetic material consisting of a sugar group, a phosphate group and a nucleobase. Prussian blue (PB) is an ancient compound which is supposed to have formed under the conditions of primitive Earth. The interaction between nucleotides and mineral surfaces is of primary importance in the context of prebiotic chemistry. In the present work, the adsorption of RMPs on PB has been studied in the concentration range 0.4 × 10−4–3.0 × 10−4 M of RMPs at pH 7.5, T = 27°C and found to be 53.1, 41.7, 25.8 and 24.0% for adenosine 5′-monophosphate (5′-AMP), guanosine 5′-monophosphate, cytidine 5′-monophosphate and uridine 5′-monophosphate, respectively. Optimum conditions for the adsorption were studied as a function of concentration, time, amount of adsorbent and pH and data obtained were found to fit the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Langmuir constants (KL and Xm) values were calculated. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffractometry techniques were used to investigate the interaction of RMPs on PB surface. Adsorption kinetics of 5′-AMP on PB has been found to be pseudo-second order. Results obtained from this study should prove valuable for a better understanding of the mechanism of RMP–PB interaction.