Production and application of a treated bentonite–chitosan composite for the efficient removal of humic acid from aqueous solution

Mohammad Hadi Dehghani*, Ahmad Zarei, Alireza Mesdaghinia, Ramin Nabizadeh, Mahmood Alimohammadi, Mojtaba Afsharnia, Gordon McKay

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

78 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Humic acids have a significant undesirable influence on drinking water quality. In this study, we utilized a physically and chemically treated bentonite–chitosan composite (TBCH) for the removal of humic acid from aqueous solutions. Response surface methodology (RSM) using central composite design (CCD) was used to investigate the effects of pH, adsorbent dosage, humic acid concentration and contact time on the adsorption effectiveness of humic acid by TBCH. Isotherms, kinetics and thermodynamics have been also studied. An optimum condition for humic acid uptake was achieved at pH 4, 1.4 g/L adsorbent dosage, 40 mg/L humic acid concentration, and 115 min contact time. This study showed that modified bentonite and chitosan composite (TBCH) was a promising adsorbent for the removal of humic acid from aqueous solutions due to its significant removal efficiency, natural abundance and low cost; it may be an alternative to more costly available materials.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)102-115
Number of pages14
JournalChemical Engineering Research and Design
Volume140
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2018

Keywords

  • Adsorption
  • Bentonite
  • Chitosan
  • Humic acid
  • Optimization
  • Response surface methodology

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