Kinetic and isotherm studies of cadmium adsorption on manganese nodule residue

Abstract

The adsorption equilibrium and kinetics studies of cadmium (Cd) ions from aqueous solutions on manganese nodule residue were carried out by considering the influence of various parameters, such as contact time, solution pH and initial metal concentration in solution, temperature and adsorbent quantity. The adsorption of Cd increased with an increase in the concentrations of this metal in solution. Presence of manganese and iron content in manganese nodule residue (MNR) played a significant role in Cd(II) ions removal. The linear forms of the Langmuir and Freundlich equations were utilized for experiments with metal concentrations of 200 mg/L for Cd(II) as functions of solution pH (2.0–6.0). First-order rate equation and pseudo second-order rate equations were applied to study adsorption kinetics. Mass transfer study was also done to know the reaction rate. Thermodynamic parameters, such as standard Gibb's free energy (ΔG°), standard enthalpy (ΔH°) and standard entropy (ΔS°), were also evaluated by Van’t Hoff equation. Thus, adsorption of Cd on this adsorbent was found to be spontaneous and exothermic thermodynamically. The adsorption capacity for Cd was found to be 19.8 mg/g of MNR. Under the optimised conditions, cadmium level was brought down from 100 mg/L to Cd less than detection limits and from 200 to 2 mg/L. Thus, the wastewater after cadmium removal could be safely disposed off on to land or sewage. Finally, the metal loaded adsorbent was subjected to desorption using different mineral acids and leaching by using toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP), synthetic precipitation leaching procedure (SPLP) tests for its further treatment or its safe disposal.