E.C. Abdullah

Removal of Heavy Metals from Wastewater Using Carbon Nanotubes

The discovery of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and the prospect of developing novel carbon-based nanomaterials have attracted researchers worldwide. CNTs have great potential as a novel type of adsorbent due to their unique properties such as chemical stability, mechanical and thermal stability, and the high surface area, which leads to various applications including hydrogen storage, protein purification and water treatment. Removal of heavy metals from industrial wastewater leads to the biggest challenge nowadays. To reduce environmental problems, the CNTs are promising candidates for the adsorption of heavy metals. In this study, extremely brief summaries of liquid pollutant purification are reviewed.

Comparative kinetic study of functionalized carbon nanotubes and magnetic biochar for removal of Cd2+ ions from wastewater

We did a comparative study between functionalized multiwall carbon nanotube (FMWCNTs), and magnetic biochar was carried out to determine the most efficient adsorbent to be employed in the Cd2+ ion removal. We optimized parameters such as agitation speed, contact time, pH and adsorbent dosage using design expert vrsion 6.08. The statistical analysis reveals that optimized condition for highest removal of Cd2+ are at pH 5.0, with dosage 1.0 g, agitation speed and contact time of 100 rpm and 90 minutes, respectively. For the initial concentration of 10mg/l, the removal efficiency of Cd2+ using FMWCNTs was 90% and and 82% of magnetic biochar. The maximum Cd2+ adsorption capacities of both FMWCNTs and magnetic biochar were calculated: 83.33mg/g and 62.5mg/g. The Langmuir and Freundlich constants for FMWCNTs were 0.056 L/mg and 13.613 L/mg, while 0.098 L/mg and 25.204 L/mg for magnetic biochar. The statistical analysis proved that FMWCNTs have better adsorption capacity compared to magnetic biochar and both models obeyed the pseudo-second-order.

Rapid adsorption of toxic Pb（II） ions from aqueous solution using multiwall carbon nanotubes synthesized by microwave chemical vapor deposition technique

Multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were synthesized using a tubular microwave chemical vapor deposition technique, using acetylene and hydrogen as the precursor gases and ferrocene as catalyst. The novel MWCNT samples were tested for their performance in terms of Pb(II) binding. The synthesized MWCNT samples were characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR), Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) analysis, and the adsorption of Pb(II) was studied as a function of pH, initial Pb(II) concentration, MWCNT dosage, agitation speed, and adsorption time, and process parameters were optimized. The adsorption data followed both Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms. On the basis of the Langmuir model, Qmax was calculated to be 104.2mg/g for the microwave-synthesized MWCNTs. In order to investigate the dynamic behavior of MWCNTs as an adsorbent, the kinetic data were modeled using pseudo first-order and pseudo second-order equations. Different thermodynamic parameters, viz., ∆H(0), ∆S(0) and ∆G(0) were evaluated and it was found that the adsorption was feasible, spontaneous and endothermic in nature. The statistical analysis revealed that the optimum conditions for the highest removal (99.9%) of Pb(II) are at pH5, MWCNT dosage 0.1g, agitation speed 160r/min and time of 22.5min with the initial concentration of 10mg/L. Our results proved that microwave-synthesized MWCNTs can be used as an effective Pb(II) adsorbent due to their high adsorption capacity as well as the short adsorption time needed to achieve equilibrium.

Adsorption of chromium (VI) on functionalized and non-functionalized carbon nanotubes

We did a comparative study on the adsorption capacity of Cr (VI) between functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and non-functionalized CNTs. The statistical analysis reveals that the optimum conditions for the highest removal of Cr (VI) are at pH 9, with dosage 0.1 gram, agitation speed and time of 120 rpm and 120 minutes, respectively. For the initial concentration of 1.0 mg/l, the removal efficiency of Cr (VI) using functionalized CNTs was 87.6% and 83% of non-functionalized CNTs. The maximum adsorption capacities of functionalized and non-functionalized CNTs were 2.517 and 2.49 mg/g, respectively. Langmuir and Freundlich models were adopted to study the adsorption isotherm, which provided a KL and KF value of 1.217 L/mg and 18.14 mg1−nLn/g functionalized CNT, while 2.365 L/mg and 2.307 mg1−nLn/g for non-functionalized CNTs. This result proves that functionalized CNTs are a better adsorbent with a higher adsorption capacity compared with the non-functionalized CNTs.

Synthesis of CTAB intercalated graphene and its application for the adsorption of AR265 and AO7 dyes from water

Environmental applications of graphene (GN) are limited by the occurrence of aggregation. Herein, graphene oxide (GO) was synthesized, reduced to GN by ascorbic acid, and intercalated with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). GN-CTAB was characterized by Boehms titration, N2 adsorption/desorption, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, Fluorescence spectrophotometry, X-ray diffraction and Scanning electron microscopy. Then, GN-CTAB was used for the adsorptive removal of acid red 265 (AR265) and acid orange 7 (AO7) dyes from water both under batch and column operation. Under batch operation, the effect of pH, adsorbent dosage, initial dye concentration, contact time and temperature on dyes adsorption were assessed. Adsorption isotherms, kinetics, and thermodynamics were analyzed systematically. Regarding the fixed bed operation, the effect of both the bed height and flow rate were studied and experimental results fitted to the Thomas and BDST models. Then, the bed loss capacity along five adsorption-regeneration cycles was determined in order to further approach the practical application of GN-CTAB for wastewater treatment, namely for the removal of dyes.

ADSORPTION AND KINETIC STUDY ON Sn2+ REMOVAL USING MODIFIED CARBON NANOTUBE AND MAGNETIC BIOCHAR

The effectiveness of stannum (Sn2+) removal from aqueous solution by using magnetic biochar and functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotube (FMWCNT) was investigated. The effect of various factors, namely pH, adsorbent dosage, agitation speed and contact time was statistically studied through analysis of variance (ANOVA). Statistical analysis revealed that the optimum conditions for the highest removal of Sn2+ are at pH 5, dosage 0.1 g with agitation speed and time of 100 rpm and 90 min, respectively. At the initial concentration of 0.1 mg/L, the removal efficiency of Sn2+ using FMWCNTs was 93% and 85% with magnetic biochar. The Langmuir and Freundlich constant for both FMWCNTs and magnetic biochar were 13.397 L/mg, 18.634 L/mg and 17.719 L/mg, 25.204 L/mg, respectively. Hence, results prove that FMWCNTs are a better adsorbent with a higher adsorption capacity compared to magnetic biochar. Adsorption kinetic obeyed pseudo-second-order.

Effect of Cr2O3-TiO2 addition on the physical properties of zirconia toughened alumina

Zirconia toughened alumina (ZTA) has good mechanical properties and widely used in cutting insert application. Although the ZTA is well known of its good mechanical properties, its still can be improved in order to produce better properties. It can be done by adding additives as reinforcement such as magnesium oxide (MgO), cerium oxide (CeO), titania (TiO2) and chromia (Cr2O3). The effect of TiO2-Cr2O3 addition on the physical properties of ZTA were investigated in this study. The composition of TiO2 was varied from 0 wt% to 3.5 wt% while Cr2O3 was fixed at 5 wt%. The starting powder materials were mixed by wet mixing for 30 minutes in acetone. Then the powder mixtures were hydraulically pressed at 260 MPa. The green pellets were sintered at 1600°C for 1 hour using an electrical furnace in presureless condition. The results were characterized by XRD, density, and also Vickers hardness. The ZTA-Cr2O3-TiO2 ceramic composite achieved the highest density of 4.1 g/cm3 and Vickers hardness of 1919 HV prior to the addition of 2.0 wt% TiO2. Therefore, it can be decisively concluded that the addition of Cr2O3-TiO2 does affected the properties of ZTA.

Adsorptive Removal of Methylene Blue Using Magnetic Biochar Derived from Agricultural Waste Biomass: Equilibrium, Isotherm, Kinetic Study

Wastewater discharge from textile industries contribute much to water pollution and threaten the aqua ecosystem balance. Synthesis of agriculture waste based adsorbent is a smart move toward overcoming the critical environmental issues as well as a good waste management process implied. This research work describes the adsorption of methylene blue dye from aqueous solution on nickel oxide attached magnetic biochar derived from mangosteen peel. A series of characterization methods was employed such as FTIR, FESEM analysis and BET surface area analyzer to understand the adsorbent behavior produced at a heating temperature of 800∘C for 20min duration. The adsorbate pH value was varied to investigate the adsorption kinetic trend and the isotherm models were developed by determining the equilibrium adsorption capacity at varied adsorbate initial concentration. Equilibrium adsorption isotherm models were measured for single component system and the calculated data were analyzed by using Langmuir, Freundlich, Tempkin and DubininRadushkevich isotherm equations. The Langmuir, Freundlich and Tempkin isotherm model exhibit a promising R2-correlation value of more than 0.95 for all three isotherm models. The Langmuir isotherm model reflectsan equilibrium adsorption capacity of 22.883mg⋅g−1.

Effect of Titania and Magnesia on the Physical Properties of Zirconia Toughened Alumina

ZTA based ceramic composite system is widely accepted as cutting tools for many of these harder and wear resistant workpiece materials. This is due to their beneficial mechanical properties i.e. high temperature strength, high hardness and ability to maintain its cutting edge shape at higher temperatures. Although a lot of works have focused on the effect of various sintering additives on the ZTA ceramic system, the effect of Magnesia (MgO) and Titania (TiO2) on ZTA has not yet been studied. In this work, the physical properties of Zirconia Toughened Alumina (ZTA) ceramic composite with MgO and TiO2 as additives was investigated. The composition of TiO2 varied from 0 wt% to 3.5 wt% whereby other materials such as Al2O3, Yttria Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) and MgO were kept at constant weight percentage. Sintered samples were then tested and analyzed by XRD, Vickers hardness and high precision densimeter to investigate phase content, hardness value and densification respectively. Results showed that the solubility limit of TiO2 in ZTA-MgO ceramic composites is at 2.0 wt%. Further addition of TiO2 resulted in the formation of secondary phase known as Zirconium titanium oxide (Zr0.35TiO0.65O2) which deteriorate the properties exhibited by ZTA-MgO-TiO2 ceramic composites.