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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Organo-montmorillonites for efficient and rapid water remediation: sequential and simultaneous adsorption of lead and bisphenol A

Chongmin Liu A B C D , Pingxiao Wu orcid.org/0000-0002-8335-6971 A B C D E F , Lytuong Tran A B , Nengwu Zhu A B and Zhi Dang A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A College of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China.

B The Key Lab of Pollution Control and Ecosystem Restoration in Industry Clusters, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou 510006, China.

C Guangdong Engineering and Technology Research Center for Environmental Nanomaterials, Guangzhou 510006, China.

D Guangdong Provincial Engineering and Technology Research Center for Environmental Risk Prevention and Emergency Disposal, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Centre, Guangzhou 510006, China.

E Guangdong Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Solid Waste Treatment and Recycling, Guangzhou 510006, China.

F Corresponding author. Email: pppxwu@scut.edu.cn

Environmental Chemistry 15(5) 286-295 https://doi.org/10.1071/EN18057
Submitted: 12 January 2018  Accepted: 27 April 2018   Published: 20 July 2018

Environmental context. Novel materials are increasingly being sought-after to remove metals and organic pollutants from water. We investigated two organo-functionalised montmorillonites for sequential and simultaneous adsorption of lead and bisphenol A. Our findings could lead to new approaches for handling emergency complex pollution events.

Abstract. Organo-montmorillonites (OMts) modified by two different carbon chain lengths of betaine were used to remove the combined pollution (heavy metal and organic pollutant) from a water environment, sequentially and simultaneously. The properties of OMts were measured with X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Thermogravimetry-Differential Scanning Calorimetry (TG-DSC). The independent adsorption of a single pollutant, direct sequential adsorption, indirect sequential adsorption and simultaneous adsorption of bisphenol A (BPA) and lead ion (Pb2+) onto OMts were investigated. Initial concentrations, reaction time, solution pH and the release amount of pre-adsorbed contaminant in the sequential sorption system were also investigated for the adsorption behaviours of Pb2+ and BPA. Two kinetic models and two adsorption isotherms were applied to explain the adsorption process. The adsorptive mechanism of BPA adsorption onto OMts was ascribed to a hydrophobic interaction, while the mechanism for Pb2+ adsorption was attributed to cation exchange, surface adsorption, electrostatic attraction and complexation from the results of specific surface area Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). This study might provide valuable information for the application of novel organoclays to the removal of both heavy metal and organics from water.

Additional keywords: BPA, mechanism, OMts, Pb2+.


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