Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Adsorption of Cu(II), Ni(II), Pb(II) and Cd(II) from Ternary Mixtures: Modelling Competitive Breakthrough Curves and Assessment of Sensitivity

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Environmental Processes Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study describes the competitive sorption of Cu(II), Ni(II), Pb(II) and Cd(II) onto grape stalks wastes (GS) in ternary mixtures in a continuous bed up-flow system. The characteristic breakthrough profile was observed for just one of the metals while the other two suffered overshoots. The elution profile showed that (i) lead is not overshot in any mixture, (ii) copper overshoots when lead occurs in the ternary mixture, and (iii) cadmium and nickel exhibit intense overshoots when either lead or copper are present. A kinetic model based on the Homogeneous Surface Diffusion Model (HSDM) was developed to describe the sorption profile of each metal in the mixtures. To simulate the breakthrough curves, the Extended Langmuir Model (MEL) has been incorporated into the HSDM to describe the equilibrium. The values of the Langmuir affinity constant, b, were found to follow the next ranking: Pb (54.5 ± 0.2) >> Cu (15.2 ± 0.3) >> Cd (9.4 ± 0.1) > Ni (8.1 ± 0.2). These constants successfully explain the competence that leads to the observed overshoots in the mixtures. The model successfully fits metal sorption kinetics and elution profile in the mixtures. A study of the model sensitivity was carried out to know how the uncertainty in the experimental data and the model parameters affect the uncertainty in the output of the model. This analysis highlighted the relevance of good estimation of K max , b and η besides the need of gathering high quality experimental data for an accurate determination of the model parameters.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abdolali A, Guo WS, Ngo HH, Chen SS, Nguyen NC, Tung KL (2014) Typical lignocellulosic wastes and by-products for biosorption process in water and wastewater treatment: a critical review. Bioresour Technol 160:57–66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Akcil A, Koldas S (2006) Acid mine drainage (AMD): causes, treatment and case studies. J Clean Prod 14:1139–1145

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barros MASD, Arroyo PA, Silva EA (2013) Chapter 14: General aspects of aqueous sorption process in fixed beds, mass transfer. In: Nakajima H (ed), Advances in Sustainable Energy and Environment Oriented Numerical Modeling, InTech, July 24, 2013. doi: 10.5772/51954

  • Bayo J (2012) Kinetic studies for Cd(II) biosorption from treated urban effluents by native grapefruit biomass (Citrus Paradisi L.): the competitive effect of Pb(II), Cu(II) and Ni(II). Chem Eng J 191:278–287

  • Blázquez G, Calero M, Ronda A, Tenorio G, Martín-Lara MA (2014) Study of kinetics in the biosorption of lead onto native and chemically treated olive stone. J Ind Eng Chem 20:2754–2760

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borba CE, Guirardello R, Silva EA, Veit MT, Tavares CRG (2006) Removal of nickel(II) ions from aqueous solution by biosorption in a fixed bed column: experimental and theoretical breakthrough curves. Biochem Eng J 30:184–191

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boveris A, Musacco-Sebio R, Ferrarotti N, Saporito-Magriñá C, Torti H, Massot F, Repetto MG (2012) The acute toxicity of iron and copper: biomolecule oxidation and oxidative damage in rat liver. J Inorg Biochem 116:63–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chao H-P, Chang CC, Nieva A (2014) Biosorption of heavy metals on Citrus Maxima peel, passion fruit shell, and sugarcane bagasse in a fixed-bed column. J Ind Eng Chem 20:3408–3414

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiou YH, Liou SH, Wong RH, Chen CY, Lee H (2015) Nickel may contribute to EGFR mutation and synergistically promotes tumor invasion in EGFR-mutated lung cancer via nickel-induced microRNA-21 expression. Toxicol Lett 237:46–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Choy KKH, Porter JF, Mckay G (2000) Langmuir isotherm models applied to the multicomponent sorption of acid dyes from effluent onto activated carbon. J Chem Eng Data 45:575–584

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Djeribi R, Hamdaoui O (2008) Sorption of copper(II) from aqueous solutions by cedar sawdust and crushed brick. Desalination 225:95–112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Escudero C, Fiol N, Poch J, Villaescusa I (2008) The kinetics of copper sorption onto yohimbe bark wastes. Int J Environ Pollut 34:215–230

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Escudero C, Fiol N, Poch J, Villaescusa I (2009) Modeling of kinetics of Cr(VI) sorption onto grape stalk waste in a stirred batch reactor. J Hazard Mater 170:286–291

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Escudero C, Poch J, Villaescusa I (2013) Modelling of breakthrough curves of single and binary mixtures of Cu(II), Cd(II), Ni(II) and Pb(II) sorption onto grape stalks waste. Chem Eng J 217:129–138

  • Esfandiar N, Nasernejad B, Ebadi T (2014) Removal of Mn(II) from groundwater by sugarcane bagasse and activated carbon (a comparative study): application of response surface methodology (RSM). J Ind Eng Chem 20:3726–3736

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Femina Carolin C, Senthil Kumar P, Saravanan A, Janet Joshiba G, Naushad M (2017) Efficient techniques for the removal of toxic heavy metals from aquatic environment: a review. J Environ Chem Eng 5:2782–2799

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fiol N, Escudero C, Poch J, Villaescusa I (2006) Preliminary studies on Cr(VI) removal from aqueous solution using grape stalk wastes encapsulated in calcium alginate beads in a packed bed up-flow column. React Funct Polym 66:795–807

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fiol N, Escudero C, Villaescusa I (2008) Re-use of exhausted ground coffee waste for Cr(VI) sorption. Sep Sci Technol 43:582–596

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fu F, Wang Q (2011) Removal of heavy metal ions from wastewaters: a review. J Environ Manag 92:407–418

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ghaedi M, Pakniat M, Mahmoudi Z, Hajati S, Sahraei R, Daneshfar A (2014) Synthesis of nickel sulfide nanoparticles loaded on activated carbon as a novel adsorbent for the competitive removal of methylene blue and safranin-O. Spectrochim Acta A-M 123:402–409

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ghasemi M, Naushad M, Ghasemi N, Khosravi-fard Y (2014) A novel agricultural waste based adsorbent for the removal of Pb(II) from aqueous solution: kinetics, equilibrium and thermodynamic studies. J Ind Eng Chem 20:454–461

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iyer S, Sengupta C, Velumani A (2015) Lead toxicity: an overview of prevalence in Indians. Clin Chim Acta 451(Part B):161–164

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jomova K, Valko M (2011) Advances in metal-induced oxidative stress and human disease. Toxicology 283:65–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kleinübing SJ, Da Silva EA, Da Silva MGC, Guibal E (2011) Equilibrium of Cu(II) and Ni(II) biosorption by marine alga Sargassum Filipendula in a dynamic system: competitiveness and selectivity. Bioresour Technol 102:4610–4617

  • Ko DCK, Porter JF, Mckay G (2001) Film-pore diffusion model for the fixed-bed sorption of copper and cadmium ions onto bone char. Water Res 35:3876–3886

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ko DCK, Porter JF, Mckay G (2003) Mass transport model for the fixed bed sorption of metal ions on bone char. Ind Eng Chem Res 42:3458–3469

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ko DCK, Cheung CW, Choy KKH, Porter JF, McKay G (2004) Sorption equilibria of metal ions on bone char. Chemosphere 54:273–281

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ko DCK, Porter JF, Mckay G (2005) Application of the concentration-dependent surface diffusion model on the multicomponent fixed-bed adsorption systems. Chem Eng Sci 60:5472–5479

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kurniawan A, Sutiono H, Indraswati N, Ismadji S (2012) Removal of basic dyes in binary system by adsorption using rarasaponin–bentonite: revisited of extended Langmuir model. Chem Eng J 189–190:264–274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larous S, Menia IH (2012) Removal of copper (II) from aqueous solution by agricultural by-products-sawdust. Energy Proced 18:915–923

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee VKC, Mckay G (2004) Comparison of solutions for the homogeneous surface diffusion model applied to adsorption systems. Chem Eng J 98:255–264

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu B, Zeng L, Mao J, Ren Q (2010) Simulation of levulinic acid adsorption in packed beds using parallel pore/surface diffusion model. Chem Eng Technol 33:1146–1152

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martín-Lara MA, Blázquez G, Calero M, Almendros AI, Ronda A (2016) Binary biosorption of copper and lead onto pine cone shell in batch reactors and in fixed bed columns. Int J Min Process 148:72–82

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moyo M, Guyo U, Mawenyiyo G, Mawenyiyo G, Ngceboyakwethu PZ, Nyamunda BC (2015) Marula seed husk (Sclerocarya birrea) biomass as a low cost biosorbent for removal of Pb(II) and Cu(II) from aqueous solution. J Ind Eng Chem 27:126–132

  • Muhammad, Chuah TG, Robiah Y, Suraya AR, Choong TSY (2011) Single and binary adsorption isotherms of Cd(II) and Zn(II) on palm kernel shell based activated carbon. Desalin Water Treat 29:140–148

  • Nguyen VK, Lee MH, Park HJ, Lee JU (2015) Bioleaching of arsenic and heavy metals from mine tailings by pure and mixed cultures of Acidithiobacillus spp. J Ind Eng Chem 21:451–458

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nurchi VM, Crisponi G, Villaescusa I (2010) Chemical equilibria in wastewaters during toxic metal ion removal by agricultural biomass. Coordin Chem Rev 254:2181–2192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park Y, Shin WS, Choi SJ (2012) Removal of Co, Sr and Cs from aqueous solution using self-assembled monolayers on mesoporous supports. Korean J Chem Eng 29:1556–1566

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richard D, Delgado Núñez MDL, Schweich D (2010) Adsorption of complex phenolic compounds on active charcoal: breakthrough curves. Chem Engi J 158:213–219

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simate GS, Ndlovu S (2015) The removal of heavy metals in a packed bed column using immobilized cassava peel waste biomass. J Ind Eng Chem 21:635–643

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swati A, Hait S (2017) Fate and bioavailability of heavy metals during vermicomposting of various organic wastes-a review. Process Saf Environ 109:30–45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Traylor SJ, Xu X, Li Y, Jin M, Li ZJ (2014) Adaptation of the pore diffusion model to describe multi-addition batch uptake high-throughput screening experiments. J Chromatogr A 1368:100–106

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valderrama C, Barios JI, Caetano M, Farran A, Cortina JL (2010) Kinetic evaluation of phenol/aniline mixtures adsorption from aqueous solutions onto activated carbon and hypercrosslinked polymeric resin (MN200). React Funct Polym 70:142–150

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Velazquez-Jimenez LH, Pavlick A, Rangel-Mendez JR (2013) Chemical characterization of raw and treated agave bagasse and its potential as adsorbent of metal cations from water. Ind Crop Prod 43:200–206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vijayaraghavan K, Balasubramanian R (2015) Is biosorption suitable for decontamination of metal-bearing wastewaters? A critical review on the state-of-the-art of biosorption processes and future directions. J Environl Manage 160:283–296

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vilar VJ, Botelho CM, Loureiro JM, Boaventura RA (2008) Biosorption of copper by marine algae Gelidium and algal composite material in a packed bed column. Bioresour Technol 99:5830–5838

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xia L, Hu YX, Zhang BH (2014) Kinetics and equilibrium adsorption of copper(II) and nickel(II) ions from aqueous solution using sawdust xanthate modified with ethanediamine. T Nonferr M Soc 24:868–875

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work has been supported by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spain, ref. CTM2015-68859-C2-1-R. We express also our sincere gratitude to the reviewers for the constructive comments provided in the review of the paper.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Gaustadalléen 21, NO-0349, Oslo, Norway

    Carlos Escudero-Oñate

  2. Applied Mathematics Department, Escola Politècnica Superior, Universitat de Girona, c/ Mª Aurèlia Capmany, 61, 17071, Girona, Spain

    Jordi Poch

  3. Chemical Engineering Department, Escola Politècnica Superior, Universitat de Girona, c/ Mª Aurèlia Capmany, 61, 17071, Girona, Spain

    Isabel Villaescusa

Authors
  1. Carlos Escudero-Oñate
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jordi Poch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Isabel Villaescusa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carlos Escudero-Oñate.

Ethics declarations

Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest

On behalf of the authors, the corresponding authors declares that there is no conflict of interest.

Research Involving Human Participants and/or Animals

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Informed Consent

All authors declare that they have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for the content, including participation in the concept, design, analysis, writing, and revision of the manuscript. All authors had full access to all of the data in the study and can take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. All authors approved the final version. Furthermore, each author certifies that this material has not been and will not be submitted to or published in any other publication.

Electronic supplementary material

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Escudero-Oñate, C., Poch, J. & Villaescusa, I. Adsorption of Cu(II), Ni(II), Pb(II) and Cd(II) from Ternary Mixtures: Modelling Competitive Breakthrough Curves and Assessment of Sensitivity. Environ. Process. 4, 833–849 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40710-017-0262-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40710-017-0262-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation