Removal of cadmium ions from wastewater using innovative electronic waste-derived material

Meng Xu, Pejman Hadi, Guohua Chen, Gordon McKay

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

159 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Cadmium is a highly toxic heavy metal even at a trace level. In this study, a novel material derived from waste PCBs has been applied as an adsorbent to remove cadmium ions from aqueous solutions. The effects of various factors including contact time, initial cadmium ion concentration, pH and adsorbent dosage have been evaluated. The maximum uptake capacity of the newly derived material for cadmium ions has reached 2.1. mmol/g at an initial pH 4. This value shows that this material can effectively remove cadmium ions from effluent. The equilibrium isotherm has been analyzed using several isotherm equations and is best described by the Redlich-Peterson model. Furthermore, different commercial adsorbent resins have been studied for comparison purposes. The results further confirm that this activated material is highly competitive with its commercial counterparts.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)118-123
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Hazardous Materials
Volume273
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 May 2014
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Adsorption isotherms
  • Cadmium removal
  • Ion exchange
  • Waste printed circuit boards

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Environmental Engineering
  • Environmental Chemistry
  • Waste Management and Disposal
  • Pollution
  • Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

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