Comparative Adsorptive Removal of Selected Heavy Metals from Battery Wastewater by Purified and Polyethylene Glycol Modified Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

Comparative adsorption study of some toxic metals (Ni, Fe, Cu, Cd, and Pb) from battery industrial effluent by purified and polyethylene glycol-modified carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is reported. The as-prepared CNTs via chemical vapour deposition method (A-CNTs), its acid purified form (P-CNTs), and polyethylene glycol functionalized form (PEG-CNTs) were characterized by HRTEM, BET, HRSEM, FTIR and XRD. The HRSEM and HRTEM micrograph revealed the formation of multi-walled tubular network structures of different inner and outer diameter. The BET study of PEG-CNTs and purified CNTs showed surface areas of 970.81 m2/g and 781.88 m2/g, respectively. The nanomaterials batch adsorption effect of various parameters such as contact time, nano-adsorbent dosage and temperature was conducted. The optimum equilibrium to achieve maximum removal of Cd (83.41 %), Ni (92.79 %), Fe (95.93%), Pb (97.16 %) Cu (99.9 9%) using PEG-CNTs was 90 min of contact time, 0.3 g of nano-adsorbent dosage and 60 oC temperature. While the maximum percentage removal efficiencies accomplished using P-CNTs under the same applied conditions were Cd (78.64 %), Ni (76.12 %), Fe (92.87 %), Pb (90.7 2%) Cu (99.09 %). PEG-CNTs was seen as more effective than P-CNTs. Adsorption data of Ni on P-CNTs followed Langmuir isotherm while the adsorption equilibrium model (Freundlich isotherm) of Ni, Fe, Cu and Pb on PEG-CNTs were fitted well. However, in both cases, the sorption kinetic study followed the pseudo-second-order model. The thermodynamics showed that the removal of toxic metals from battery wastewater was spontaneous and endothermic irrespective of the nano-adsorbents. The study found that surface modification of CNTs by polyethylene glycol adequately improved the nanotubes, thus leading to relatively adsorption capacities of heavy metals from industrial battery effluent.