Kinetics and Equilibrium Models for Sorption of Cu(II) onto a Novel Manganese Nano-adsorbent

The studies of kinetics and equilibrium sorption of Cu(II) were undertaken using nanoscale zerovalent manganese (nZVMn) synthesized by chemical reduction in a single pot system. nZVMn was characterized using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive x-ray, and surface area determined by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller. The effect of pH, contact time, adsorbent dose, agitation speed, initial Cu(II) concentrations, temperature, and ionic strength on the sorption of Cu(II) onto nZVMn were investigated in a batch system. The kinetic data followed pseudo-second-order. The mechanism was governed by pore diffusion. The equilibrium sorption data were tested by Freundlich, Langmuir, Temkin, Dubinin-Kaganer-Raduskevich, and Halsey isotherm models. The Langmuir monolayer adsorption capacity (Q(max) - 181.818 mg/g) is much greater compared to other nano-adsorbents used in sorption of Cu(II). The thermodynamic parameters (Delta H-0, Delta S-0, Delta G(0)) revealed a feasible, spontaneous, and endothermic adsorption process. nZVMn has a great potential for effective removal of copper (II) in aqueous solution.