Fixed bed column adsorption of vanadium from water using amino-functional polymeric adsorbent

Abstract

Vanadium is listed on candidate contaminant list (CCL), and regulatory guidelines exist for vanadium in some countries. Previous studies have examined vanadium adsorption in batch studies, but limited knowledge is available for column adsorption of vanadium. As communities are moving towards potable water reuse, column adsorption treatment is and will play a vital role in water reuse. This paper assesses vanadium removal by amino poly glycidyl methacrylate (amino-pGMA) in fixed-bed column adsorption. The effects of influent vanadium concentration (50–100 mg/L), feed flow rate (7.5–12.5 mL/min), and amino-pGMA bed height (2–4 cm) on the breakthrough characteristics of the adsorption system were determined. The highest bed capacity of 75.5 mg/g was obtained using 75 mg/L influent vanadium concentration, 2 cm bed height, and 7.5 mL/min flow rate. The adsorption data were fitted to three well-established fixed-bed adsorption models, namely: Thomas, Yoon–Nelson, and bed depth service time (BDST) models. The results were compared to the experimentally attained data, and they elicited an excellent fit for all the models (R2 ≥ 0.90) at different conditions. The findings suggested that amino-pGMA in fixed-bed column adsorption presents great potential in the removal of vanadium from water. The amino group on the adsorbent played a cardinal role in the adsorption of vanadium.