title: Selective removals of heavy metals (Pb(2+), Cu(2+), and Cd(2+)) from wastewater by gelation with alginate for effective metal recovery.
abstract: A novel method that uses the aqueous sodium alginate solution for direct gelation with metal ions is developed for effective removal and recovery of heavy metals from industrial wastewater. The experimental study was conducted on Pb(2+), Cu(2+), and Cd(2+) as the model heavy metals. The results show that gels can be formed rapidly between the metals and alginate in less than 10 min and the gelation rates fit well with the pseudo second-order kinetic model. The optimum dosing ratio of alginate to the metal ions was found to be between 2:1 and 3:1 for removing Pb(2+) and around 4:1 for removing Cu(2+) and Cd(2+) from wastewater, and the metal removal efficiency by gelation increased as the solution pH increased. Alginate exhibited a higher gelation affinity toward Pb(2+) than Cu(2+) and Cd(2+), which allowed a selective removal of Pb(2+) from the wastewater in the presence of Cu(2+) and Cd(2+) ions. Chemical analysis of the gels suggests that the gelation mainly occurred between the metal ions and the -COO(-) and -OH groups on alginate. By simple calcination of the metal-laden gels at 700 °C for 1 h, the heavy metals can be well recovered as valuable resources. The metals obtained after the thermal treatment are in the form of PbO, CuO, and CdO nanopowders with crystal sizes of around 150, 50, and 100 nm, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong; School of Environment and Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Environmental Exposure and Health, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong; Research Center for Environmental Health and Pollution Control, and School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China.
authors.forename: Xingwen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong. Electronic address: xlia@hkucc.hku.hk.
authors.forename: Xiao-yan
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Li
keywords: Alginate; Gelation; Heavy metals; Metal recovery; Nanopowders