Fidelis Chigondo

Recent Natural Corrosion Inhibitors for Mild Steel: An Overview

Traditionally, reduction of corrosion has been managed by various methods including cathodic protection, process control, reduction of the metal impurity content, and application of surface treatment techniques, as well as incorporation of suitable alloys. However, the use of corrosion inhibitors has proven to be the easiest and cheapest method for corrosion protection and prevention in acidic media. These inhibitors slow down the corrosion rate and thus prevent monetary losses due to metallic corrosion on industrial vessels, equipment, or surfaces. Inorganic and organic inhibitors are toxic and costly and thus recent focus has been turned to develop environmentally benign methods for corrosion retardation. Many researchers have recently focused on corrosion prevention methods using green inhibitors for mild steel in acidic solutions to mimic industrial processes. This paper provides an overview of types of corrosion, corrosion process, and mainly recent work done on the application of natural plant extracts as corrosion inhibitors for mild steel.

Removal of chromium (VI) from aqueous solution using chemically modified orange (citrus cinensis) peel

The removal of Cr (VI) from aqueous solutions onto chemically modified orange peel was studied at varying initial metal concentrations, adsorbent doses, pH and contact times. Batch experiments were carried out under optimized conditions to evaluate the adsorption capacity of the orange peel chemically modified with sodium hydroxide. The residual Cr (VI) concentrations after biosorption were analyzed by FAAS. The biosorbent was characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy and BET. The characterization of the orange peel biomass suggested the possible contribution of carboxyl and hydroxyl groups in Cr (VI) biosorption. Chemically modified orange peel exhibited more adsorption potential as compared to the raw orange peel. The biosorption efficiency of the orange peel was dependent on the pH of the Cr (VI) solution, with pH 2 being optimal. The removal rate of Cr (VI) ions increased with increase in contact time and remained constant after an equilibrium time of 180 min. The removal of Cr (VI) ions increased with increase in biosorbent concentration with the optimal adsorbent dosage at 4.0 mg/L. The increase in initial Cr (VI) ion concentration led to an increase in the percentage removal of Cr (VI). The adsorption data fitted well with the Freundlich isotherm model with R 2 = 0.987 for the raw orange peel and R 2 = 0.995 for the modified orange peel. The Freundlich constants Kf and n were 97.07 (mg/g (L/mg) n ) and 0.79 (g/L) for the raw orange peel and 139.0 ((mg/g)(L/mg) n ) and 0.815 (g/L) for modified orange peel respectively. The present study revealed that orange peel which is a low cost agricultural material could be used as an efficient sorbent for the removal of Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions and that chemical modification of the biosorbent using sodium hydroxide enhanced adsorption capacity. Keywords: Adsorption isotherm, Biosorption, Chemical modification, Chromium (VI), Orange peel

Application of Central Composite Design in the Adsorption of Ca(II) on Metakaolin Zeolite

Metakaolin zeolite-A was synthesized from thermally activated kaolin clay and characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and X-Ray Diffraction Spectroscopy. The effects of pH (2–10), contact time (10–180 min), initial concentration (5–120 mgL−1), and dosage (0.1–2 g) and their interactions were investigated using response surface methodology following a central composite design. Optimum removal (87.70%) was obtained at pH 6, contact time 180 min, initial concentration 40.0 mgL−1, and adsorbent dosage 1.0 g by Excel Solver using the GRG solving method. The adsorption data fitted best to the Langmuir model with correlation coefficient and Chi-square value . The Freundlich isotherm gave a correlation coefficient and . The adsorption process followed the pseudo-second-order model. The calculated thermodynamic parameters showed that the adsorption process was endothermic and not thermodynamically spontaneous. The studied zeolite-A can therefore be used as a promising adsorbent for the removal of Ca(II) ions from aqueous solutions.

Extraction of Water Treatment Coagulant from Locally Abundant Kaolin Clays

Rapid industrialisation is contributing to water pollution. There is a need to identify cheaper and efficient methods of removing contaminants as the demand for clean water rises. A study is carried out to investigate the extraction of alum from locally abundant kaolin clays using sulphuric acid. Alum is a coagulant that is used for raw water treatment. The kaolin clay and alum were characterized by Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The effects of particle size, calcination temperature, calcination time, acid-kaolin clay ratio, acid concentration, leaching temperature, and leaching time on extraction efficiency were investigated. The optimum leaching conditions for the calcined kaolin clay were found to be particle size 100 µm, acid-kaolin clay weight ratio 6 : 1, acid concentration 4 M, leaching temperature 100°C, and leaching time 90 min. Under optimised conditions, 66.95% (w/w) aluminum sulphate was extracted. The results showed that sulphuric acid could be used on a large scale to extract alum from kaolin clay. The extracted alum showed similar structural and physical characteristics compared with commercial alum. A dosage of 40 mg/L of the extracted alum showed effective coagulant properties with a great potential of treating raw water.