Removal of copper and cadmium heavy metal ions from the aqueous solution using crosslinked polyacrylamide/polyethyleneimine hybrid nanocomposites
摘要
In this study, polyacrylamide (PAM) and polyethyleneimine (PEI) blends were crosslinked with N,N′-methylene bis(acrylamide) (MBA; loading: 5 to 20 phr) in the presence of cellulose and nano-hydroxyapatite (nHA). Two types of heavy metals, copper (II) and cadmium (II), were chosen for the adsorption experiments, with pH values ranging from 3 to 7 and initial heavy metal concentrations from 10 to 100 mg/L. The concentration of heavy metal ions was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). Results showed that 15 phr of MBA was the optimum amount of crosslinking agent in PAM/PEI/Cel/nHA nanocomposites for Cu(II) and Cd(II) adsorption. The maximum adsorption of Cu(II) and Cd(II) was attained at pH 5 and pH 6, respectively. The adsorption capacity of PAM/PEI/Cel/nHA nanocomposites increased with higher initial concentrations of Cu(II) and Cd(II). The maximum adsorption capacity of PAM/PEI/Cel/nHA/MBA-15 nanocomposites was 270.27 mg/g for Cu(II) and 344.83 mg/g for Cd(II). Additionally, the adsorption processes of PAM/PEI/Cel/nHA/MBA-15 nanocomposites for Cu(II) and Cd(II) were well-fitted by both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms, with the Freundlich model being more dominant. Overall, the adsorption capacity of PAM/PEI/Cel/nHA nanocomposites was improved by the hybridization of cellulose and nHA.