Adsorption of Ni(II) on ion exchange resin: Kinetics, equilibrium and thermodynamic studies

This article describes the ion exchange of a heavy metal Ni(II) from aqueous solutions onto a Dowex HCR-S, cationic resin. Batch adsorption studies were conducted to evaluate the effect of various parameters such as pH, resin dose, stirring speed, temperature, contact time and initial Ni(II) concentration on the removal of Ni(II). Adsorption rate increased with the increase in initial nickel concentration, stirring speed and temperature. Equilibrium adsorption isotherms were measured for the single component system, and the experimental data were analyzed by using Langmuir, Freundlich, Elovich, Temkin, Khan, Sips, Toth, Koble-Corrigan and Radke-Prausnitz isotherm equations. The Sips equation appears to fit the equilibrium data. Different models were tested for their applicability. Adsorption kinetic data were modeled using the Lagergren pseudo-first-order, Ho's pseudo-second-order and Elovich models. It was found that Ho's pseudo-second-order model could be used for the prediction of the system's kinetics. Thermodynamic activation parameters such as Delta G*, Delta S* and Delta H* of the adsorption of Ni(II) on Dowex HCR-S cationic resin were also calculated.