Toxic and heavy metals are considered harmful derivatives of industrial activities; they are not biodegradable and their accumulation in living organisms can become lethal. Among other heavy and toxic metals, chromium is considered hazardous, especially in the hexavalent (Cr6+) form. Numerous established studies show that exposure to Cr6+ via drinking water leads to elevated chromium levels in tissues, which may result in various forms of cancer. The purpose of this research is to synthesize magnetite/zeolite-X composite particles for the adsorption and magnetic removal of Cr6+ ions from aqueous solutions. Synthesis and characterization of such composite nanomaterials, along with an initial experimental evaluation of Cr6+ removal from water-based solution, are presented. Results show that zeolite-X is a very promising zeolite form, that when bound to magnetic nanoparticles can be used to trap and magnetically remove toxic ions from aqueous solutions.
Keywords: adsorption; composite nanoparticles; hexavalent chromium; magnetic removal; magnetite; zeolite-X.