Removal of cadmium ions from wastewater using innovative electronic waste-derived material

Meng Xu; Pejman Hadi; Guohua Chen; Gordon McKay

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2014.03.037

Removal of cadmium ions from wastewater using innovative electronic waste-derived material

J Hazard Mater. 2014 May 30:273:118-23. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2014.03.037. Epub 2014 Mar 28.

Authors

Meng Xu¹, Pejman Hadi², Guohua Chen³, Gordon McKay⁴

Affiliations

¹ Fok Ying Tung Graduate School, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Electronic address: mxuac@ust.hk.
² Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Electronic address: kehadi@ust.hk.
³ Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Electronic address: kechengh@ust.hk.
⁴ Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Electronic address: kemckayg@ust.hk.

PMID: 24727013
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2014.03.037

Abstract

Cadmium is a highly toxic heavy metal even at a trace level. In this study, a novel material derived from waste PCBs has been applied as an adsorbent to remove cadmium ions from aqueous solutions. The effects of various factors including contact time, initial cadmium ion concentration, pH and adsorbent dosage have been evaluated. The maximum uptake capacity of the newly derived material for cadmium ions has reached 2.1mmol/g at an initial pH 4. This value shows that this material can effectively remove cadmium ions from effluent. The equilibrium isotherm has been analyzed using several isotherm equations and is best described by the Redlich-Peterson model. Furthermore, different commercial adsorbent resins have been studied for comparison purposes. The results further confirm that this activated material is highly competitive with its commercial counterparts.

Keywords: Adsorption isotherms; Cadmium removal; Ion exchange; Waste printed circuit boards.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adsorption
Cadmium / chemistry*
Computers*
Electronic Waste*
Waste Disposal, Fluid / methods
Wastewater / chemistry*
Water Pollutants, Chemical / chemistry*

Substances

Waste Water
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Cadmium