Kinetics and equilibrium studies for sorption of cobalt (II) and nickel (II) ions from aqueous solution using zeolite-Y

Abstract

Sorption of cobalt (II) and nickel (II) ions from aqueous solutions by TSZ350HUA-type coded zeolites was studied. Zeolite-Y was characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transformed-infrared spectroscopy. It was shown that cobalt (II) and nickel (II) were mostly adsorbed from the aqueous medium. The sorption capacity (q_e) was determined from the exchange isotherms for the sorption system as a function of metal ion concentrations and it was found to be 24.8 ± 1.9 and 20 ± 0.87 mg/g for cobalt (II) and nickel (II), respectively. The kinetic study provides that the adsorption process obeys the pseudo-second order model, and the optimum conditions for the best recovery of both metals were obtained at 0.05 g (TSZ 350HUA-type) from 10 ml solution at pH 5–6 and contact time of 1.0 h. The obtained result suggests that TSZ350HUA can be used as a good adsorbent for the recovery of cobalt (II) and nickel (II) from the leached waste solution of the spent Ni-MH battery.

NOVELTY STATEMENT

• As hazardous quantities of Nickel and Cobalt may remain in the environment for centuries and can be readily absorbed by marine animals and directly enter the human food chains, presenting a high health risk to consumers.

• The novel contribution to the literature, is a feasible and cost-effective process for sorption of nickel and cobalt using TSZ350HUA (high Al content) from aqueous solution.

• The uptake of cobalt onto aluminol surface groups is at a maximum. The high aluminum content of TSZ350HUA (i.e. low Si/Al ratio) was an important factor governing the improved performance of this zeolite relative to other tested. The pH buffering capacity(∼6) of TSZ350HUA could lead to savings in cost and process time for industrial effluent treatment due to avoidance of a pH pre-conditioning step prior to heavy metal removal.

• Regeneration tests indicate that sorbent relatively stable in water treatment technology.

• The possibility of use TSZ350HUA in separation of Co/Ni from leached solution of spent Ni-M Hydride batteries producing high purity Nickel hydroxide.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Zeolite-Y
• cobalt
• nickel
• sorption
• kinetic
• isotherm modeling
• recycling

Acknowledgment

The authors are thankful for Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Authors contributions

Mohamed.I.Aly^*: Conceptualization, supervision, investigation,Experimental, visualization, writing – original draft, writing – review and editing.

R.Gamal: Data curation, investigation,Experimental, validation, writing – original draft, writing – review and editing.

Availability of data and materials

Not applicable.