Removal of Fe(II) from the wastewater of a galvanized pipe manufacturing industry by adsorption onto bentonite clay

Bentonite clay has been used for the adsorption of Fe(II) from aqueous solutions over a concentration range of 80–200 mg/l, shaking time of 1–60 min, adsorbent dosage from 0.02 to 2 g and pH of 3. The process of uptake follows both the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models and also the first-order kinetics. The maximum removal (>98%) was observed at pH of 3 with initial concentration of 100 mg/l and 0.5 g of bentonite. The efficiency of Fe(II) removal was also tested using wastewater from a galvanized pipe manufacturing industry. More than 90% of Fe(II) can be effectively removed from the wastewater by using 2.0 g of the bentonite. The effect of cations (i.e. zinc, manganese, lead, cadmium, nickel, cobalt, chromium and copper) on the removal of Fe(II) was studied in the concentration range of 10–500 mg/l. All the added cations reduced the adsorption of Fe(II) at high concentrations except Zn. Column studies have also been carried out using a certain concentration of wastewater. More than 99% recovery has been achieved by using 5 g of the bentonite with 3 M nitric acid solution.