Efficient Removal of Heavy Metals from Aqueous Solutions Using a Bionanocomposite of Eggshell/Ag-Fe
Verónica M. Alamillo-López,
Víctor Sánchez-Mendieta,
Oscar F. Olea-Mejía,
María G. González-Pedroza,
Raúl A. Morales-Luckie
Affiliations
Verónica M. Alamillo-López
Posgrado en Ciencia de Materiales Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de, Mexico, Avenida Paseo Colón, esquina paseo Tollocan s/n., Toluca de Lerdo C.P. 50000, Mexico
Víctor Sánchez-Mendieta
Centro Conjunto de Investigación en Química Sustentable UAEM-UNAM, Carretera Toluca-Atlacomulco Km 14.5, San Cayetano, Toluca C.P. 50200, Mexico
Oscar F. Olea-Mejía
Centro Conjunto de Investigación en Química Sustentable UAEM-UNAM, Carretera Toluca-Atlacomulco Km 14.5, San Cayetano, Toluca C.P. 50200, Mexico
María G. González-Pedroza
Posgrado en Ciencia de Materiales Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de, Mexico, Avenida Paseo Colón, esquina paseo Tollocan s/n., Toluca de Lerdo C.P. 50000, Mexico
Raúl A. Morales-Luckie
Centro Conjunto de Investigación en Química Sustentable UAEM-UNAM, Carretera Toluca-Atlacomulco Km 14.5, San Cayetano, Toluca C.P. 50200, Mexico
Eggshell and an easily synthesized bionanocomposite of eggshell with Ag-Fe nanoparticles demonstrated to be efficient adsorbent materials for the removal of lead, arsenic, and mercury from water. The natural material and the bionanocomposite were characterized by TEM and XRD. Ag-Fe nanoparticles vary from 1 to 100 nm in size. Equilibrium times of the adsorption systems were achieved between 4 and 8 h. The experimental adsorption data fitted the pseudo-second and Elovich models; therefore, the adsorption of heavy metals ions took place mainly by a chemical process. The adsorption capacity of eggshell in mg/g was 7.01 for As5+, 3.90 for Pb2+, and 1.51 for Hg2+, while the nanocomposite adsorption capacity was 17.7 for As5+, 27.8 for Pb2+ and 15.88 for Hg2+.
