(7fo) Adsorption of Copper and Nickel  from Wastewater in Fixed Bed Using Bentonite Clay

Teaching Interests:  Chemical Engineering

Abstract:

Presence of heavy metals in wastewater and its land disposal are potential sources of environmental hazards. A bentonite clay from Saudi Arabia was used as an adsorbent for removing copper and nickel from wastewater in fixed bed. The effect of various experimental parameters such as bed depth (5-10cm) and initial concentration (20-100 mg L^-1) on the time of the bentonite clay bed and shape of the breakthrough curve was examined. The pore diffusion coefficient and the equilibrium parameters estimated from the batch adsorption data were used for modeling the adsorption of copper and nickel from wastewater by Saudi bentonite clay in an experimental fixed bed adsorber. The partial differential equations for pore diffusion and as well as copper and nickel mass balance in the packed bed were solved by regression lines to predict the breakthrough curves for fixed bed. The predictions from fixed bed pore diffusion models correlated well with the experimental data.