Removal of Cr(VI) from Waters by Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes: Optimization and Kinetic Investigations

Abstract

The adsorption of chromium(VI) from aqueous solutions onto multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) has been investigated under various experimental conditions of initial metal concentration, agitation speed, aqueous pH, temperature and adsorbent dosage to assess the equilibrium and kinetic parameters. It was found that the kinetic data were fitted with the pseudo-first- and pseudo-second-order models, whereas the chromium(VI) adsorption data were fitted with the Langmuir and Freundlich equilibrium models to give the characteristic parameters of each model. According with the evaluation, both isotherm models are useful to represent the measured adsorption data. The adsorption of chromium(VI) is also dependent on the temperature, and the corresponding thermodynamic parameters including ΔH°, ΔG° and ΔS° were estimated from the experimental data, indicating the exothermic and non-spontaneous nature of the metal adsorption onto the MWCNTs. Chromium(VI) desorption was investigated by the use of aqueous hydrazine sulfate solutions.