Effects of formaldehyde modification of eucalyptus bark on Cr(VI) adsorption

Abstract

The adsorption effects, thermodynamics, and kinetics of formaldehyde-modified eucalyptus bark on Cr(VI) was investigated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to verify the adsorption capacity difference between unmodified and modified eucalyptus bark. The results demonstrated that the surface area and active group content was increased by modification, which was conducive to the adsorption of Cr(VI). The effects of pH, time, temperature, initial Cr(VI) concentration, and adsorbent dosage and on adsorption were investigated. The optimal adsorption capacity was 16.50 mg.g-1 under the conditions of 50 mg.L-1 initial Cr(VI) concentration, pH 2.0, 3 g.L-1 adsorbent dosage, 50 °C, and 120 min. The fitting of kinetics indicated that the adsorption was governed by multiple factors. The thermodynamic parameters △H0 > 0 showed that the adsorption process was an endothermic reaction. The value △S0 > 0 indicated that liquid-solid interface disorder increased during the adsorption process and showed a good adsorption performance.