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Synthesis of agar-stabilized nanoscale zero-valent iron particles and removal study of hexavalent chromium

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Abstract

In this study, agar-stabilized nanoscale zero-valent iron (A-nZVI) was synthesized using a rheological phase reaction method. The structure and morphology of A-nZVI particles were investigated by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry. Batch removal experiments showed that the pH value of solution, hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)]/A-nZVI mass ratio and reaction time have significant effects on the removal of Cr(VI). A 100 % removal of Cr(VI) was achieved when applying 50 mg L−1 of Cr(VI) at the optimal pH value of 3 and the Cr(VI)/A-nZVI molar ratio of 0.025 with the reaction time of 2 h at room temperature. The removal rates of Cr(VI) were fitted to the modified pseudo-first-order kinetic equations with respect to Cr(VI) concentrations.

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Acknowledgments

This work has been funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51268018), supported by the Open Funds from Key Laboratory of Jiangsu Province for Chemical Pollution Control and Resources Reuse (Nanjing University of Science and Technology), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 30920130122007), and Jingdezhen Science and Technology Bureau (No.701301257). The authors are grateful to National Engineering Research Center for Domestic and Building Ceramics, JCU for the assistance in analytical measurements.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute, Jingdezhen, 333403, Jiangxi Province, China

    C. Jiao, Y. Cheng & W. Fan

  2. Key Laboratory of Jiangxi Province for Advanced Ceramic Materials, Jingdezhen, 333001, Jiangxi Province, China

    C. Jiao, Y. Cheng & W. Fan

  3. School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210094, Jiangsu Province, China

    J. Li

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  1. C. Jiao
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Correspondence to Y. Cheng.

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Jiao, C., Cheng, Y., Fan, W. et al. Synthesis of agar-stabilized nanoscale zero-valent iron particles and removal study of hexavalent chromium. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 12, 1603–1612 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-014-0524-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-014-0524-0

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