Hexavalent chromium removal from aqueous medium by ternary nanoadsorbent: A study of kinetics, equilibrium, and thermodynamic mechanism

PLoS One. 2023 Dec 22;18(12):e0290234. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0290234. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Although many studies have focused on chromium removal from aqueous media by ternary Nano adsorbents, still the integrated kinetics, equilibrium, and thermodynamic mechanisms of chromium removal remain unknown. Thus in this study, we have synthesized a novel ternary oxide nanocomposite comprising iron, manganese, and stannous (Fe2O3-MnO2-SnO2) in a facile method as a promising adsorbent for the removal of Cr(VI) from an aqueous medium. The Fe2O3-MnO2-SnO2 system was firstly characterized by FTIR, XRD, TGA, BET, and SEM/EDX. The effect of parameters, for instance, pH, temperature, initial Cr(VI) intensity, and adsorbent dose, have been examined to optimize the Cr(VI) adsorption performance. The adsorption of Cr(VI) onto Fe2O3-MnO2-SnO2 nanoadsorbent is associated with an adsorption/reduction mechanism. Using an initial Cr(VI) intensity of 50 mg L-1, 200 rpm agitation, 2.5-g L-1 of adsorbent, pH 2, 90 minutes adsorption time, and 298 K temperature, a maximum adsorption capability of 69.2 mg Cr(VI) g-1 for Fe2O3-MnO2-SnO2 was obtained. Models of pseudo-2nd-order kinetics and Langmuir's isotherm were best suited to the investigated data. Besides, thermodynamic parameters show that Cr(VI) adsorption onto Fe2O3-MnO2-SnO2 was random and dominated by entropy. The reusability of Fe2O3-MnO2-SnO2 was found to be consistently high (remaining above 80% for Cr(VI)) over four adsorption-desorption cycles. Chromium adsorption from the tannery wastewater was achieved 91.89% on Fe2O3-MnO2-SnO2. Therefore, Fe2O3-MnO2-SnO2 nanoparticles, being easy to be synthesized, reusable and having improved adsorption capability with higher surface area, could be a desirable option for removing Cr(VI) from aqueous environments.

MeSH terms

  • Adsorption
  • Chromium / chemistry
  • Ferric Compounds
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Kinetics
  • Manganese Compounds
  • Oxides
  • Thermodynamics
  • Water
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis
  • Water Purification* / methods

Substances

  • chromium hexavalent ion
  • Oxides
  • Ferric Compounds
  • Manganese Compounds
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical
  • Water
  • Chromium

Grants and funding

The authors received no specific funding for this work.