Adsorption of chromium (VI) ion using zeolite NaA/Fe3O4 composite derived from rice husk ash

Abstract

Abstract In this study, zeolite NaA was fabricated from rice husk ash before combining with Fe3O4 to form a magnetic NaA/Fe3O4 composite. NaA/Fe3O4 composite was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET). The surface area and the pore size of zeolite NaA/Fe3O4 was 24.11 m2.g−1 and 23.04 Å. In addition, batch adsorption studies were carried out for the removal of chromium (VI) ion in aqueous solution. The effects of adsorption parameters, including pH solution, initial concentration of Cr (VI) ions, mass of adsorbent, and contact time were investigated. The maximum equilibrium adsorption capacity of zeolite NaA and NaA/Fe3O4 was 22.554 mg.g−1 and 13.722 mg.g−1, respectively. The pseudo-first order kinetic model fitted well to the experimental data. The regeneration of the adsorbent was also investigated for three cycles.