Abstract
This study investigated the potential of nano-crystalline nickel-copper ferrites as an absorbent material for treatment of waste water effluent of dye industry. Co-precipitation technique was employed to synthesize the different concentrations of nickel-copper ferrite absorbent from hexa-hydrated copper chloride, hexa-hydrated nickel chloride and hexa-hydrated ferric chloride with NaOH as a digesting agent. The concentration effect on crystal structure, crystal size, volume of the unit cell, density of the unit cell, lattice parameters and microstructures of the produced spinel ferrites was elaborated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The crystalline cubic structures of Ni0.9Cu0.1Fe2O4, Ni0.7Cu0.3Fe2O4 and Ni0.5Cu0.5Fe2O4 phases were formed after 2 hours of annealing at 700 degrees C and using NaOH as precipitating agent. The waste water from dye industry was analyzed using UV-VIS spectrophotometry before and after treating with these nano-crystalline ferrites. The highest degree of dye separation from the waste water effluent was achieved with solid to liquid ratio of 0.3: 50. It was revealed that all the ferrite samples showed highest dye removal efficiency during the first 60 min of stirring.