title: Copper(II) removal from aqueous solutions by adsorption on non-treated and chemically modified cactus fibres.
abstract: The adsorption efficiency of a biomass by-product (cactus fibres) regarding the removal of copper(II) from aqueous solutions has been investigated before and after its chemical treatment. The chemical treatment of the biomass by-product included phosphorylation and MnO2-coating. The separation/removal efficiency has been studied as a function of pH, Cu(II) concentration, ionic strength, temperature and contact time. Evaluation of the experimental data shows that the MnO2-coated product presents the highest adsorption capacity, followed by the non-treated and phosphorylated material. Regarding the effect of ionic strength/salinity on the adsorption, in contrast to the removal efficiency of the phosphorylated product, which is significantly affected, the MnO2-coated and non-treated material don't show any effect, indicating the formation of inner-sphere surface complexes. The adsorption reaction is in all cases endothermic and relatively fast, particularly the adsorption on the MnO2-coated product. The results of the present study indicate that for the removal of bivalent metal-ions from contaminated waters the MnO2-coated material is expected to be the most effective adsorbent and an alternative to MnO2 resins for the treatment of environmentally relevant waters.
authors: Department of Chemistry, University of Cyprus, P.O. Box 20537, Cy-1678 Nicosia, Cyprus E-mail: pspasch@ucy.ac.cy.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Prodromou
authors: Department of Chemistry, University of Cyprus, P.O. Box 20537, Cy-1678 Nicosia, Cyprus E-mail: pspasch@ucy.ac.cy.
authors: I
authors: I
authors: Pashalidis
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D029421:Cactaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D003300:Copper / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007700:Kinetics; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D013816:Thermodynamics; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D003300:Copper