Abstract

Introduction: The heavy metals toxic waste is an important problem for human health and life.

Materials and Method: The removal capacity of Pb (II) and Cd (II) ions in the aqueous solutions of the wastewater was investigated by using the poly acrylamide-co-acrylic acid/clinoptilolite (PAAC) nanocomposite in a fixed-bed column with the controlled time, adsorbent content, pH values, temperature and flow rate.

Result: The results showed that this nanocomposite had a great potential for removal of Pb (II) and Cd (II) (90-99 %) at the room temperature by the fixed-bed method when compared with the batch method (70-80%).

Conclusion: The adsorption data were fitted to the well-established fixed-bed adsorption model (Thomas model). The results showed well fitted to the Thomas model with a correlation coefficient, R2 ≥ 0.97. In conclusion, PAAC hydrogel can be proposed as a good, safe and efficient absorbent for elimination of Pb (II) and Cd (II) from wastewater.

Keywords: Poly acrylamide-co-acrylic acid/clinoptilolite, removal Pb (II) and Cd (II), heavy metals, continuous method, pollutant, fixed-bed column.

Graphical Abstract