Anion Exchange Sorption of Chromate from Aqueous Solutions by Activated Carbon

Water decontamination from chromium (Cr) is of prime importance because of its carcinogenic nature. The sample of activated carbon was characterized by surface area analyzer, SEM/EDX, TGA, FTIR and PZC. This study was focused on adsorption of hexavalent chromium from the aqueous phase onto activated carbon. Both the temperature and pH had a positive effect on the chromate uptake by activated carbon. The chromate uptake at different pH values followed the trend: pH 2 > pH 3 > pH 4 > pH 5 > pH 7 > pH 8. The sorption maxima at pH 2 was explained on the basis of electrostatic attraction between the negatively charged chromate anions and positively charged surface of the activated carbon. Different models were tested to access the sorption maxima and to probe into the chromate adsorption mechanism. The thermodynamic parameters suggested that heat is needed to shift the hexavalent chromium from solution to the solid surface. It was concluded that the anion exchange sorption was involved in removing the chromate anion from the aqueous system into the surface of activated carbon.