Chromium removal from aqueous soolution using zeolite bearing sedimentary rock

Author(s)

Sandra Maria Dal Bosco

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: Campinas, SP.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Geociências
• Defense date: 2007-08-24

Examining board members

Bernardino Ribeiro Figueiredo; Jacinta Enzweiler; Ricardo Cesar Aoki Hirata

• Advisor: Rômulo Simões Angélica; Bernardino Ribeiro Figueiredo

Abstract

Heavy metal enrichment in groundwater can be due to natural biogeochemistry processes as well as to industrial, agricultural and other activities that contribute significantly to groundwater contamination and, hence, giving rise to great concerns when considering the extension of ionic dispersion via food chain. Chromium, object of the present study, is one of these potential toxic metals found in groundwater. In natural water, chromium may be found in the Cr(III) and Cr(VI) chemical forms, stable in aerobic environment. Ingestion of contaminated water for Cr(VI) can lead to health problems such as allergic dermatitis, ulcerate of skin, nasal septum perforation and cancer. Despite of Cr(III) being recognized as less mobile and less toxic than Cr(VI), several natural processes can induce interchange between Cr(VI) and Cr(III) species, revealing the importance of preventing excessive chromium concentration in water. In the present study, zeolite-bearing sandstone, originated from the Parnaiba Paleozoic basin, northeastern Brazil, was tested as a cationic exchange material for chromium removal from aqueous solution. Two grain-size fractions <250 µm (Zeo60) and <177µm (Zeo80) were used. Essays were restricted to removal of Cr(III) species which occur cationic species in aqueous solution whereas the negative charged Cr(VI) species were not considered in the present study. Tests were performed using 1.0 g of each sample in 60 mL of solution with known initial Cr(III) concentrations kept agitated until equilibrium was attained (1 hour for Zeo80 and ca. 4 hours for Zeo60). After reactions, the final Cr concentrations were determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. The material response to ionic exchange showed to be very efficient for Cr(III) removal from solution at around 99 % when the cation initial concentration was 10 mg L-1. Tests were carried out at 25, 40 and 60 ºC but the influence of temperature was not significant. The influence of solution pH was observed in the interval from 3.0 to 5.0 and an increase of Cr removal occurred at pH = 5 of equal amounts of chromium for both samples. The material easily regenerates after the desorption tests: ca. 90 % of adsorbed Cr was released from the Zeo60 sample and ca. 93 % from the Zeo80 sample. All the results support the recommendation of using this material for chromium removal from contaminated water and effluents. In addition, this low-cost material is natural, easily accessed from sedimentary deposits and does not need any previous treatment which can be a stimulus for continuing studies oriented to consider its application in large scale (AU)