Removal of Ni(II) from aqueous solutions by adsorption on nano-Fe 3O4: Kinetics and mass transfer study

Abstract

The present study was undertaken to investigate the efficiency of nano-Fe3O4 (n-Fe3O4) for the removal of nickel from their aqueous solutions. Removal process of Ni(II) was carried out by using batch adsorption experiments. Various important process parameters such as concentration of metal solution, contact time, pH and temperature were investigated. It was observed that removal decreases from 90.48 to 87.94% by increasing concentration from 1.9 × 10-2 to 5.7 × 10 -2 mol/L. pH studies revealed that basic ranges favour Ni(II) removal. Removal of Ni(II) by adsorption on n-Fe3O4 was found to be endothermic in nature. Kinetics of removal process has been studied and mass transfer coefficient and intra-particle diffusion constant were also calculated at different temperatures. The results of the present study suggest that n-Fe3O4 has high potential for the removal of Ni(II) and it can be used for nickel removal from aqueous solutions and Ni(II) rich industrial effluents as well.