Removal of copper from aqueous solutions using dried activated sludge and nano dried activated sludge:Adsorption isotherm and kinetic

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of dried activated sludge (DAS) and nano driedactivated sludge (NDAS) for removal of Cu (II). Dried activated sludge and nano dried activated sludge prepared as apowder, were tested as sorbents for the removal of Cu (II) from aqueous solutions. The effects of various experimentalparameters including pH, initial Cu (II) concentration, and mass of sorbent and contact time were examined and optimalexperimental conditions were obtained. Adsorption tests confirmed maximum exchange between metal ions andprotons at pH 3.0. The equilibrium time for copper adsorption onto adsorbents were determined as 60 and 120 min forboth nano dried activated sludge and dried activated sludge, respectively. The rate of copper removal was directlycorrelated to adsorbents amount and contact time. Langmuir and Freundlich were used for the mathematicaldescription of the adsorption equilibrium of the copper onto the both dried activated sludge and nano dried activatedsludge. The results show that Langmuir isotherm represented a better correlation compared to other isotherms. Themaximum adsorption capacities were 65.2and 76.92 mg/g for dried activated sludge and nano dried activated sludge,respectively. It was concluded that nano dried activated sludge had great potential to remove Cu (II) ions from theaqueous solutions.

Keywords:

, Adsorption isotherm , Cu (II) , Dried activated sludge , Nano dried activated sludge ,