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Characteristics and mechanisms of Ni(II) removal from aqueous solution by Chinese loess

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Abstract

Nickel is a toxic heavy metal among trace elements which has a detrimental impact on living organisms. There is growing need of finding an economic and effective solution for Ni(II) immobilization in environments. Chinese loess was selected as adsorbent to remove Ni(II) from aqueous solution. Adsorbent dosage, reaction time, solute concentration, temperature, and solution pH also have influences on efficiency of Ni(II) removal. The monolayer adsorption capacity of loess towards Ni(II) is determined to be about 15.61 mg/g. High temperature and pH favor the removal of Ni(II) using Chinese loess soil and the optimal dosage of loess is determined to be 10 g/L. The kinetics and adsorption isotherms of the adsorption process can be best-fitted with the pseudo second order kinetics and Langmuir isothermal model, respectively. The thermodynamic analysis reveals that the adsorption process is spontaneous, endothermic and the system disorder increases with duration. Nickel ions can be removed with the removal efficiency of 98.5% at pH greater than or equal to 9.7. Further studies on loess and Ni(II) laden loess (using X-Ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) and Ni(II) species distribution at various pH have been conducted to discuss the adsorption mechanism. Loess soils in China have proven to be a potential adsorbent for Ni(II) removal from aqueous solutions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Architectural, Civil Engineering and Environment, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315211, China

    Yan Wang  (王艳)

  2. Research Center of Costal and Urban Geotechnical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China

    Xiao-wu Tang  (唐晓武) & Heng-yu Wang  (王恒宇)

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  1. Yan Wang  (王艳)
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  2. Xiao-wu Tang  (唐晓武)
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  3. Heng-yu Wang  (王恒宇)
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Correspondence to Yan Wang  (王艳).

Additional information

Foundation item: Projects(51179168, 51308310) supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China; Project(LQ13E080007) supported by Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China

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Wang, Y., Tang, Xw. & Wang, Hy. Characteristics and mechanisms of Ni(II) removal from aqueous solution by Chinese loess. J. Cent. South Univ. 22, 4184–4192 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11771-015-2966-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11771-015-2966-z

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