Adsorbents for the Reduction of Iron Impurities from Crude Sodium Sulphide: A Comparative Study

The present paper reports the investigations pertaining to the comparative adsorption capacity of amorphous aluminium oxide and powdered fuller's earth (as a low-cost adsorbent) for the removal of iron impurities in commercial grade sodium sulphide. Results show that incorporation of adsorbent as small as 1% reduces the iron impurities from 1.50mg to 0.12mg, and 0.50mg with amorphous aluminium oxide and powdered fuller's earth respectively. Under similar conditions the efficiency of adsorption of iron contents in commercial grade sodium sulphide by amorphous aluminium oxide is more than powdered fuller's earth but low cost of fuller's earth can make it more expedient to use. It is recommended that a combination of more efficient adsorbent with low cost adsorbent like fuller's earth may be useful option for the removal of iron impurities in commercial grade sodium sulphide. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.