Abstract
In this study, the adsorption behavior of natural bentonite with respect to Fe(III) and Ni(II) has been studied in order to consider its application to purity metal finishing wastewaters. During the adsorption process, batch technique is used, and the effects of pH, bentoite amount, temperature, heavy metal concentration, bentonite treatment (calcinations of natural bentonite at 700°C, washing by deionized water to remove the excess salt from bentonite surface), and agitation time on adsorption efficiency are studied. The washed and calcined bentonite samples were labeled by WB and CB, respectively. The pH-dependence of Fe(III) and Ni(II) sorption on the bentonite is significantly more noticeable, indicating a major contribution of surface complexation at the edge sites. It was determined that adsorption of Fe(III) and Ni(II) is well fitted by the second order reaction kinetic. Furthermore, the sorption rate of Fe(III) was higher than the sorption rate of Ni(II). Adsorption of Fe(III) and Ni(II) on NB appeared to follow Langmuir isotherm. In addition, calculated and experimental adsorbed amounts of Fe(III) by the unit NB mass are very higher than Ni(II). The paper also discusses the thermodynamic parameters of the adsorption (the Gibbs free energy, entropy, and enthalpy). Our results demonstrate that the adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic under natural conditions. Also the adsorption capacity of bentonite for Fe(III) Ni(II) and increases with increased bentonite dose. According to the equilibrium studies, the selectivity sequence can be given as Fe(III) > Ni(II). The adsorbed amount of Fe(III) and Ni(II) on washed bentonite (WB) were very higher compared to NB and CB. Our results show that bentonite could especially WB be considered as a potential adsorbent for Fe(III) and Ni(II) removal from aqueous solutions.