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Use of activated dry flowers (ADF) of Alstonia Scholaris for chromium (Vl) removal: equilibrium, kinetics and thermodynamics studies

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Abstract

In this study, a natural adsorbent (activated dry flowers (ADF)) was prepared from plant-derived waste biomass by chemical activation and employed for chromium (VI) removal from aqueous medium using experimental batch technique. Experiments were carried out as function of adsorbent dosage, pH, and contact time. The maximum chromium (Vl) removal was observed at initial pH 3 (~94 % removal). The equilibrium data was fitted well to Langmuir isotherm. The adsorption capacity of ADF was found to be 4.40 (mg chromium (Vl)/g) which was comparable to the adsorption capacity of some other adsorbents documented. Among various kinetic models applied, pseudo second-order model was found to explain the kinetics of chromium (VI) adsorption most effectively (R 2 >0.99). Thermodynamic parameters such as ΔG, ΔS, and ΔH shows that adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic at all the concentration ranges studied. Desorption of chromium (Vl) with 2 N NaOH was effective (~71 %) and, hence, there exists the possibility of recycling the ADF. The major advantages of using ADF as an adsorbent are due to its effectiveness in reducing the concentration of chromium (Vl) to very low levels. It requires little processing and is reversible as well as eco-friendly in contrast to traditional methods.

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Abbreviations

(ADF):

Activated dry flowers

(n):

Adsorption intensity (g/L)

(b):

Affinity of the binding sites (L/mg)

(A):

Temkin constant (mg/g)

(B):

Temkin constant (L/mg)

(q t ):

Adsorption capacity at time (t) (mg chromium (Vl)/g)

(q e ):

Adsorption capacity at equilibrium (mg chromium (Vl)/g)

(k 1 ):

Pseudo first-order rate constant (min-1)

(h):

Initial adsorption rate as t → 0 (mg/g. min)

(k 2 ):

Pseudo second order constant (g/mg.min)

(α):

Initial chromium adsorption rate (mg/g.min)

(β):

Desorption constant (g/mg)

(C):

Intercept

(K id ):

Initial rate of intraparticle diffusion (mg/L.min1/2)

(∆G):

Gibbs free energy (kJ/mol)

(∆H):

Enthalpy change (kJ/mol)

(∆S):

Entropy change (J/mol K)

(k c ):

Equilibrium constant of the adsorption process

(T):

Absolute temperature (K)

(R):

Universal gas constant (8.314 J mol/K)

(t):

Adsorption time (min)

(R L ):

Dimensionless separation factor

(C 0 ):

Initial liquid phase concentrations of chromium (Vl) (mg chromium (Vl)/L)

(C e ):

Equilibrium liquid phase concentrations of chromium (VI) (mg chromium (Vl)/L)

(C AD ):

Equilibrium concentration of chromium (Vl) on the adsorbent (mg chromium (Vl)/L)

(q e,Cal.):

Calculated equilibrium adsorption capacity (mg chromium (Vl)/g)

(q e,exp.):

Experimental equilibrium adsorption capacity (mg chromium (Vl)/g)

(χ 2):

Chi-square

(q m,Cal.):

Calculated maximum monolayer adsorption capacity (mg chromium (Vl)/g and mmol/g)

(q m,exp.),:

Experimental maximum monolayer adsorption capacity (mg chromium (Vl)/g and mmol/g)

(R 2):

Correlation coefficient

(AAS):

Atomic absorption spectrophotometer

(kf):

Multilayer adsorption capacity (mg/g)

(V):

Volume of chromium (Vl) solution (L)

(AD):

Adsorbent dosage

(m):

Mass of ADF adsorbent (g)

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Acknowledgments

The author acknowledges sincere thanks to the authorities of Dr B R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology Jalandhar, India for providing the necessary laboratory facilities and infrastructure to carry out the present work. We thank Dr S B S Mishra, Professor, Department of Chemistry, Dr B R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar for his valuable comments, suggestions and encouragement during the course of this work.

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  1. Department of Chemistry, Dr B R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, 144011, Punjab, India

    Sumit Sharma & Navin Chandra Kothiyal

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  1. Sumit Sharma
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  2. Navin Chandra Kothiyal
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Correspondence to Navin Chandra Kothiyal.

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Sharma, S., Kothiyal, N.C. Use of activated dry flowers (ADF) of Alstonia Scholaris for chromium (Vl) removal: equilibrium, kinetics and thermodynamics studies. Environ Sci Pollut Res 20, 8986–8995 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-013-1853-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-013-1853-0

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