Adsorption characteristics of nickel (II) from aqueous solutions by Zeolite Scony Mobile-5 (ZSM-5) incorporated in sodium alginate beads

Mohamed S Hellal; Ahmed M Rashad; Kishore K Kadimpati; Sayed K Attia; Mariam E Fawzy

doi:10.1038/s41598-023-45901-x

Adsorption characteristics of nickel (II) from aqueous solutions by Zeolite Scony Mobile-5 (ZSM-5) incorporated in sodium alginate beads

Sci Rep. 2023 Nov 10;13(1):19601. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-45901-x.

Authors

Mohamed S Hellal¹, Ahmed M Rashad², Kishore K Kadimpati³, Sayed K Attia², Mariam E Fawzy⁴

Affiliations

¹ Water Pollution Research Department, National Research Centre, El Behooth St., P.O. Box 12622, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt. Mohammed_saadh@yahoo.com.
² Analysis and Evaluation Department, Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt.
³ Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Faculty of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, ul. Akademicka 2, 44-100, Gliwice, Poland.
⁴ Water Pollution Research Department, National Research Centre, El Behooth St., P.O. Box 12622, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt.

Abstract

Nickel, a prevalent metal in the ecosystem, is released into the environment through various anthropogenic activities, leading to adverse effects. This research explored utilizing zeolite scony mobile-5 (ZSM-5) nanoparticles encapsulated in sodium alginate (SA) for nickel (II) removal from aqueous solutions. The adsorption characteristics of SA/ZSM-5 were examined concerning contact duration, initial metal ion concentration, pH level, temperature, and sorbent dosage. The findings revealed that a rising pH reduced Ni (II) uptake by the sorbent while increasing the Ni (II) concentration from 25 to 100 mg L^-1 led to a decrease in removal percentage from 91 to 80% under optimal conditions. Furthermore, as sorbent dosage increased from 4 to 16 g L^-1, uptake capacity declined from 9.972 to 1.55 mg g^-1. Concurrently, SA/ZSM-5 beads' Ni (II) sorption capacity decreased from 96.12 to 59.14% with a temperature increase ranging from 25 to 55 °C. The Ni (II) sorption data on SA/ZSM-5 beads are aptly represented by Langmuir and Freundlich equilibrium isotherm models. Moreover, a second-order kinetic model characterizes the adsorption kinetics of Ni (II) on the SA/ZSM-5 beads. A negative free energy change (ΔG°) demonstrates that the process is both viable and spontaneous. The negative enthalpy values indicate an exothermic nature at the solid-liquid interface while negative entropy values suggest a decrease in randomness. In conclusion, this novel adsorbent exhibits promise for removing nickel from aqueous solutions and could potentially be employed in small-scale industries under similar conditions.