Abstract

Impregnated homoionic raw Algerian bentonite (HB) with high basal spacing was prepared to remove a copper (Cu^2 +) and zinc (Zn^2 +) from 0.33 M (Na⁺, H⁺)SO₄^2 − sulphate medium in aqueous solutions. The impregnated solid was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier- Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Ultra-violet (UV). The effect of contact time, initial pH of a solution, heavy metal concentration and ligand concentration on the adsorption efficiency were investigated. Pseudo-first/s orders isotherms are applied to determine the efficiency of impregnate solid. The experimental data fitted well with the pseudo-second order model for Cu^2 + and Zn^2 + adsorption. Maximum capacities for Cu^2 + and Zn^2 + were 440 mmol/kg and 32 mmol/kg respectively. However, the adsorption is selective to copper in binary system. Moreover, impregnated solid was also regenerated and reused for subsequent recovery.

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