Enhanced Removal of Pb^+2 from Wastewater Using Combination of Ultrasound and nZVI Methods

This research reported a new method of removal of Pb+2 from water by using a nano zero valent iron (nZVI) assisted ultrasonic wave. At first, nZVI was synthesized by an ultrasound assisted method. Particles morphology and surface composition were characterized by FESEM, XRD, and EDX. The XRD patterns showed that the crystallinity of the nZVI prepared using ultrasonic conditions was higher than the conventional method. According to the EDX pattern, 67% of particle composition was nZVI. The synthesized nanoparticles were then utilized as a Fenton-like catalyst for the removal of Pb^+2 from water using an ultrasound assisted method. In the present study, ultrasound power, temperature effects, nZVI, and reaction time were optimized. From the studies, it has been observed that removal does not increase indefinitely with an increase in ultrasound power, but it instead reaches an optimum value and decreases with a further increase in the ultrasound power. The removal of Pb^+2 increased with increasing temperature, nZVI, and H2O2 concentration. The result indicated that the efficiency of hydrocarbon removal by this novel method was 97.87%.