Solid-Phase Extraction of Cu(II) from Aqueous Solution Using Surfactant-Modified Alumina

Abstract

Micelles have unique solubilizing properties. Here has been exploited the solid supported micellar bilayer (called admicelle) to extract Cu(II) ion from aqueous medium via adsorption, or more appropriately called adsolubilization. The adsorbent used in the present study is alumina modified with anionic surfactant. The material has been designated as surfactant-modified alumina (SMA). Batch adsorption results show efficient Cu(II) extraction (94.45%) by SMA at equilibrium conditions. The batch adsorption of Cu(II) obeyed Freundlich isotherm and pseudo second order kinetic model. Thermodynamic parameters (ΔG, ΔH, and ΔS) indicate that the adsorption process is spontaneous, endothermic, and favorable. Desorption of copper from Cu(II)-adsorbed SMA is possible by 0.2 M Na2-EDTA. The applicability of SMA for the removal of Cu(II) from Cu(II)-spiked real wastewater has been examined. The results show that SMA is capable of treating wastewater containing Cu(II) having an initial concentration of 20 mg L−1 with approximately 92% removal efficiency. The same amount (up to ∼92%) has been recovered again by Na2-EDTA treatment. A continuous fixed-bed column study has been performed for the design of adsorption columns.