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Recycling of iron and silicon from drinking water treatment sludge for synthesis of magnetic iron oxide@SiO2 composites

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Abstract

More attention has been paid to the deterioration of water bodies polluted by drinking water treatment sludge (DWTS) in recent years. It is important to develop methods to effectively treat DWTS by avoiding secondary pollution. We report herein a novel investigation for recovery of Si and Fe from DWTS, which are used for the synthesis of two iron oxide@SiO2 composites for adsorption of reactive red X-3B (RRX-3B) and NaNO2. The results show that Fe3+ (acid-leaching) and Si4+ (basic-leaching) can be successfully recovered from roasted DWTS. Whether to dissolve Fe(OH)3 precipitation is the key point for obtaining Fe3O4 or γ-Fe2O3 particles using the solvothermal method. The magnetic characteristics of Fe3O4@SiO2 (390.0 m2 g−1) or Fe2O3@SiO2 (220.9 m2 g−1) are slightly influenced by the coated porous SiO2 layer. Peaks of Fe–O stretching vibration (580 cm−1) and asymmetric Si–O–Si stretching vibrations (1080 cm−1) of Fe3O4@SiO2 indicate the successful coating of a thin silica layer (20–150 nm). The adsorption capacity of RRX-3B and NaNO2 by Fe3O4@SiO2 is better than that of Fe2O3@SiO2, and both composites can be recycled through an external magnetic field. This method is an efficient and environmentally friendly method for recycling DWTS.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the support by National Natural Science Foundation of China (51578218, 51108162), Natural Science Foundation of Heilongjiang Province (B201411, QC2015009), Postdoctoral Science (Start-up) Foundation of Heilongjiang Province (LBH-Q14137), Excellent Young Researchers Fund and Hundred Young Talents Fund of Heilongjiang University, and Young Teachers Fund of Heilongjiang Institute of Technology (QJ201202).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Heilongjiang University, Harbin, 150080, China

    Lingyou Meng, Yingzi Chan, Han Wang, Ying Dai, Xue Wang & Jinlong Zou

  2. Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering Process and Technology for High-Efficiency Conversion, College of Heilongjiang Province, Heilongjiang University, Harbin, 150080, China

    Lingyou Meng & Jinlong Zou

  3. School of Civil Engineering, Heilongjiang Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150050, China

    Ying Dai

Authors
  1. Lingyou Meng
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  2. Yingzi Chan
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  3. Han Wang
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  4. Ying Dai
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  5. Xue Wang
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  6. Jinlong Zou
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Correspondence to Ying Dai or Jinlong Zou.

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Responsible editor: Angeles Blanco

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Meng, L., Chan, Y., Wang, H. et al. Recycling of iron and silicon from drinking water treatment sludge for synthesis of magnetic iron oxide@SiO2 composites. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 5122–5133 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5742-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5742-6

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