Adsorption of Cr(VI) in Aqueous Solution Using a Surfactant-Modified Bentonite.

Clay minerals can be modified organically by a cationic surfactant resulting in materials known as organoclays. The organoclays have been used as adsorbents of most of the organic contaminants in the aqueous solution and oxyanions of the heavy metal. In this study, a Colombian bentonite was modified with hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide to obtain an organobentonite, and its capacity to adsorb Cr(VI) oxyanions in the aqueous solution was evaluated. The effect of pH, stirring speed, adsorbent amount, contact time, and ionic strength were investigated at 25°C. Stirring speeds above 200 rpm, contact times greater than 120 min, and the addition of NaCl (0.1 to 2.0 mM) did not have a significant effect on Cr(VI) removal. The influence of the adsorbent amount and pH on Cr(VI) adsorption was studied by the response surface methodology (RSM) approach based on a complete factorial design 32. Results proved that the Cr(VI) adsorption follows a quadratic model with high values of coefficient of determination (R 2 = 95.1% and adjusted R 2 = 93.9%). The optimal conditions for removal of Cr(VI) from an aqueous solution of 50 mg/L were pH of 3.4 and 0.44 g amount of the adsorbent. The adsorption isotherm data were fitted to the Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherm models, and the model parameters were evaluated. The maximum adsorption capacity of Cr(VI) onto organobentonite calculated from the Langmuir model equation was 10.04 ± 0.34 mg/g at 25°C. The results suggest that organobentonite is an effective adsorbent for Cr(VI) removal, with the advantage of being a low-cost material.

Tartrazine Removal from Aqueous Solution by HDTMA-Br-Modified Colombian Bentonite.

The effect of pH, ionic strength (NaCl added), agitation speed, adsorbent mass, and contact time on the removal of tartrazine from an aqueous solution, using an organobentonite, has been studied. A complete factorial design 32 with two replicates was used to evaluate the influence of the dye concentration (30, 40, and 50 mg/L) and amount of adsorbent (25, 35, and 45 mg) on decolorization of the solution. Experimental data were evaluated with Design Expert® software using a response surface methodology (RSM) in order to obtain the interaction between the processed variables and the response. pH values between 2 and 9, stirring speed above 200 rpm, and contact time of 60 min did not have a significant effect on decolorization. The optimum conditions for maximum removal of tartrazine from an aqueous solution of 30 mg/L were follows: pH = 6.0, NaCl concentration = 0.1 M, stirring speed = 230 rpm, temperature = 20°C, contact time = 60 min, and the organobentonite amount = 38.04 mg. The equilibrium isotherm at 20°C was analyzed by means of the Langmuir and Freundlich models, and the maximum adsorption capacity obtained was 40.79 ± 0.71 mg/g. This adsorption process was applied in a sample of industrial wastewater containing tartrazine and sunset yellow, having obtained a decolorization rate higher than 98% for both dyes. These results suggest that organobentonite is an effective adsorbent for the removal of anionic dyes from an aqueous solution.

Experimental data of adsorption of Cr(III) from aqueous solution using a bentonite: Optimization by response surface methodology.

Experimental data of adsorption of Cr(III) from aqueous solutions using a Colombian bentonite were acquired. The adsorbent material was characterized by XRF, XRD, and nitrogen physisorption. The effect dataset of pH, agitation speed, contact time and adsorbent amount on the removal of Cr(III) from an aqueous solution, using sodium bentonite was reported. A complete factorial design 32 with two replicates was used to estimate the influence of the adsorbent amount (0.50, 0.75 and 1.00 g) and pH (2.0, 3.0 and 4.0) on Cr(III) removal. Experimental dataset was evaluated with Design Expert® software using the response surface methodology (RSM) in order to obtain the interaction between the processed variables and the response. The optimal conditions for Cr(III) removal from aqueous solution of 50 mg/l were as follows: pH of 3.5, and the bentonite amount equals 0.96 g, keeping constant the contact time at 60 min and stirring speed at 250 rpm. The equilibrium isotherms at 25, 30 and 35 °C were fitted by means of the Langmuir and Freundlich models, and the respective parameters of such models were obtained. The maximum adsorption capacity of sodium bentonite to Cr(III) removal was between 6.44 ± 0.11 and 6.79 ± 0.21 mg/g in the temperature range from 25 to 35 °C. According to the experimental data acquired, sodium bentonite is an effective adsorbent for the Cr(III) removal from aqueous solutions, with the advantage of being a natural, abundant and low-cost material.

Experimental data of a catalytic decolorization of Ponceau 4R dye using the cobalt (II)/NaHCO3/H2O2 system in aqueous solution.

The treatment by Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) of wastewater polluted with dyes is of particular interest in the field of environmental engineering, especially for the removal azo-dyes, representing over 50% of the global annual production of dyes. Unfortunately, most azo-dyes are non-biodegradable and can be toxic to aquatic organisms. This is the first data article that applies the methodology of response surface for the optimization of decolorization of an azo-compound using cobalt in a homogeneous medium as the catalyst of a bicarbonate activated hydrogen peroxide (BAP) system which, in turn, is an emerging technology for wastewater treatment. The Response Surface Methodology (RSM) based on a Central Composite Design (CCD) was used to evaluate and optimize the influence of three experimental variables (stoichiometric dosage of H2O2, molar ratio H2O2/NaHCO3 and cobalt concentration) on the decolorization of Ponceau 4R. Reactions were performed at 25 °C, pH 8.3 with a reaction time of 2 h. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed values of R2 and adjusted-R2 of 0.9815 and 0.9648, and experimental data were fit to a second-order regression model. The optimal conditions to achieve a maximum decolorization (96.31%) of a Ponceau 4R aqueous solution of 20 mg/l were: 4.73 times stoichiometric dosage of H2O2, molar ratio H2O2/NaHCO3 of 1.70 and cobalt concentration of 11.16 µM. Under the optimal reaction conditions, the influence of temperature (20, 25, 30 and 35 °C) on decolorization was evaluated and data were adjusted to second order kinetics. To verify the efficiency of the BAP system on the decolorization of Ponceau 4R, under the optimal conditions of reaction, UV-Vis spectra, at different reaction times, were measured. Additionally, blank experiments in order to evaluate the effect of individual factors in the Ponceau 4R decolorization, using BAP system, were carried out. Data showed that the Co(II)-NaHCO3-H2O2 system is a suitable technology for the decolorization of azo-dyes aqueous solutions.