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Adsorption of lead onto smectite from aqueous solution

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Abstract

The purpose of this research is to study the effect of a new method of adsorption using membrane filtration to determine the maximum amount of lead adsorbed by clay and investigate the behavior of the clay after adsorption of the said metal. Treatment of wastewater contaminated with heavy metals depends on the characteristics of the effluent, the amount of final discharge, the cost of treatment, and the compatibility of the treatment process. The process of adsorption of heavy metals by clays may be a simple, selective, and economically viable alternative to the conventional physical–chemical treatment. This is justified by the importance of the surface developed by this material, the presence of negative charges on the said surface, the possibility of ion exchange taking place, and its wide availability in nature. The removal of lead from wastewater was studied by using the adsorption technique and using clay as the adsorbent. A method was optimized for adsorption through a membrane approaching natural adsorption. This new method is simple, selective, and the lead adsorption time is about 3 days. The various properties of clay were determined. It was observed that the cation exchange capacity of the clay was 56 meq/100 g of hydrated clay for the raw sample and 82 meq/100 g for the purified sample. The total surface area determined by the methylene blue method was equal to 556 and 783 m²/g for the raw and purified samples, respectively. The adsorption kinetics depends on several parameters. The Pb(II) clay, obeys the Langmuir, Freundlich, and the Elovich adsorption isotherms with high regression coefficients. The use of this adsorbent notably decreases the cost of treatment. It was concluded that clay shows a strong adsorption capacity on Pb(II), the maximum interaction occurring with purified clay treated at high concentration of lead. It is proposed that this adsorption through a membrane be extended for the treatment of effluents containing other metals.

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Acknowledgments

We greatly acknowledge the financial support of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Tunisia. We extend our thanks to Mr Naceur Belgacem, Professor of Grenoble INP-Pagora LGP2 (UMR 5518) CNRS for his help. The authors would like to thank both the reviewers for helpful comments and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unit of Research Materials, Environment and Energy (06/UR/12-01), Faculty of Sciences of Gafsa, University of Gafsa, Gafsa, Tunisia

    M. Mhamdi, N. Mnasri & E. Elaloui

  2. Faculty of Sciences of Bizerte, Applications Laboratory of Chemical and Natural Resources and Environment (LACReSNE), Bizerte, Tunisia

    M. Mhamdi & M. Trabelsi-Ayadi

  3. National Institute for Research and Physico-Chemical Analysis, Sidi Thabet, 2020, Tunisia

    H. Galai

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  1. M. Mhamdi
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  2. H. Galai
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  3. N. Mnasri
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  4. E. Elaloui
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  5. M. Trabelsi-Ayadi
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Correspondence to M. Mhamdi.

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Responsible editor: Vinod Kumar Gupta

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Mhamdi, M., Galai, H., Mnasri, N. et al. Adsorption of lead onto smectite from aqueous solution. Environ Sci Pollut Res 20, 1686–1697 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-1015-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-1015-9

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