Adsorption of heavy metals from industrial wastewater by using polyacrylic acid hydrogel

Abstract

In this study, the removal of heavy metals (Cu(II), Ni(II), Zn(II), and total Cr) from real industrial wastewater (IWW), being taken from galvanotechnic industry, by means of polyacrylic acid (Aac) hydrogel was investigated. The effects of adsorbent dosage, contact time, and shaking speed on heavy metal removal from wastewater were monitored using real wastewater. In addition, adsorption isotherm and kinetics studies for adsorption of heavy metals were studied in this study. The adsorption capacities of Aac hydrogel for Cu(II), Ni(II), Zn(II), and total Cr were achieved as 2.74, 1.91, 6.83, and 6.61mg/g, respectively. The removal of heavy metals using Aac hydrogel was fitted with Freundlich isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic models. Thermodynamic studies indicated that the process was exothermic and spontaneous. According to these results, Aac hydrogel is suitable adsorbents for removing heavy metals from IWW.