Synthesis and characterization of goethite coated with copper oxide and its effect on the removal of aqueous mercury(II) ions

Abstract

This paper has investigated the synthesis and characterization of CuO-coated goethite and its application in the removal of mercury. The presence of CuO coating significantly modified the adsorption pattern of mercury on goethite. The synthesis was carried out in a trimetric manner and characterization was conducted using standard laboratory procedures. Batch mode technique under reducing conditions at ambient temperature was used to determine mercury adsorption on CuO-coated goethite. Reaction mechanism indicated a less than one proton coefficient (0.68), an intraparticle diffusion that was controlled by boundary layer, an intercept C equals to 444.45, ≠0 and mass transfer rates (8.752–6 cm h–1 and 7.216–7 cm h–1) higher than those of previous studies.

Keywords

• Coating
• concentration
• ageing
• adsorption
• pH