Hybrid adsorbent material for sustainable removal of heavy metals from industrial wastewater

Abstract

Industrial manufacturing is often associated with the discharges of wastewater, this wastewater usually contains toxic substances such as heavy metals which are detrimental to the environment and public health. In this work, 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane functionalized Fe₃O₄/graphene oxide (MGO@SiO₂-NH₂) was synthesized and applied as adsorbent for removal of heavy metals from rice mill and textile effluent samples using batch adsorption technique. The adsorbent was characterized by FTIR, FESEM-EDX, TGA and VSM. Analyzing the adsorption efficiency of MGO@SiO₂-NH₂ for heavy metals at normal conditions using atomic absorption spectroscopy (ASS), MGO@SiO₂-NH₂ showed 76-100% removal efficiency for the heavy metal ions present in the two effluent samples. Furthermore, the adsorbent responded well to the external magnetic field which facilitated separation of the adsorbent from the effluent samples after adsorption.