Brazilian clays as natural cation exchangers for copper sorption in a batch system

Author(s)

Ferreira, Rafaela Reis ; da Costa, Talles Barcelos ; Barbosa, Rennan Felix da Silva ; Camani, Paulo Henrique ; Menezes, Romualdo Rodrigues ; Rosa, Derval dos Santos

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: ADSORPTION-JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL ADSORPTION SOCIETY; v. 30, n. 8, p. 21-pg., 2024-09-26.

Abstract

This study evaluated Brazilian natural clays for copper sorption from water. Clays were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), and sorption tests. Affinity tests showed that brasgel (B, 69%), chocobofe (Cb, 46%), and chocolate (Ch, 41%) had higher Cu2+ capture potential than zeolite (Z, 26%), palygorskite (P, 18%), treated palygorskite (TP, 11%), and cloisite 20A (C20A, 4%). The capture of Cu2+ by clays and zeolite occurs with the release of light metal ions, especially Na+, Mg2+ and Ca2+, which were initially present in the nanomaterials structure. The organomodification of clays possibly altered specific surface area, affecting Cu2+ removal. Besides, the lamellae morphology of B, Cb, and Ch and their crystalline structure of smectites facilitated the metal ion removal. Next, B, Cb, and Ch clays were selected based on their affinity with Cu2+ to investigate these systems' sorption kinetics and equilibrium isothermal. The sorption kinetics showed that the equilibration time was reached within 120 min for all clays. The Pseudo-second order (PSOR) and External mass transfer resistance (EMTR) models effectively represented the kinetics data. The isothermal equilibrium revealed that the maximum uptake capacity for clays by Cu2+ increased in the following order: B (0.264 mmol g(-1)) > Cb (0.223 mmol g(-1)) > Ch (0.177 mmol g(-1)). The isothermal curves better fit the Freundlich (B nanoclay) and Langmuir (Cb and Ch clays) models. The findings suggest that Brazilian clay nanostructures, particularly B, Cb, and Ch, are promising nanoadsorbents for removing bivalent copper ions from aqueous solutions. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 20/13703-3 - Environmentally friendly porous materials for the recovery and revaluation of metals reclaimed from contaminated water
• Grantee: Derval dos Santos Rosa
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 21/14714-1 - Multi-user equipment approved in grant 2020/13703-3: Cromatógrafo de Íons Modular 940 Professional IC Vario
• Grantee: Derval dos Santos Rosa
• Support Opportunities: Multi-user Equipment Program
• FAPESP's process: 24/08105-0 - Poly(alfa and beta-cyclodextrins) containing Brazilian clays to remove potentially toxic elements in contaminated water
• Grantee: Rafaela Reis Ferreira
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 23/11229-0 - Biodegradable porous composite membranes based on PLA containing nanoclay/nanocellulose for removal and recovery of PTEs from contaminated water
• Grantee: Paulo Henrique Camani
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 21/08296-2 - Development of chitosan hydrogels containing modified cellulose nanostructures for metal removal and recovery from contaminated water
• Grantee: Rennan Felix da Silva Barbosa
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 22/11133-0 - Development of biodegradable porous starch hydrogels containing modified nanocellulose or nanoclays for the removal and recovery of metals in contaminated water
• Grantee: Talles Barcelos da Costa
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 23/11783-8 - Composite starch hydrogels for sorption of potentially toxic elements in contaminated water: synergistic interaction between selective ligands in modified nanocellulose
• Grantee: Talles Barcelos da Costa
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• FAPESP's process: 19/16301-6 - Starch aerogels containing modified nanocellullose for removal of heavy metals in wastewater from the industry sector
• Grantee: Paulo Henrique Camani
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 22/01382-3 - Cellulose hydrogels containing modified clays for the removal and recovery of metal ions present in contaminated water
• Grantee: Rafaela Reis Ferreira
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate