Adsorption of Cr(VI) Using Organoclay/Alginate Hydrogel Beads and Their Application to Tannery Effluent

The tanning industry is among the most environmentally harmful activities globally due to the pollution of lakes and rivers from its effluents. Hexavalent chromium, a metal in tannery effluents, has adverse effects on human health and ecosystems, requiring the development of removal techniques. This...

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Main Authors: Mayra X. Muñoz-Martinez, Iván F. Macías-Quiroga, Nancy R. Sanabria-González
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Gels
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/10/12/779
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author Mayra X. Muñoz-Martinez
Iván F. Macías-Quiroga
Nancy R. Sanabria-González
author_facet Mayra X. Muñoz-Martinez
Iván F. Macías-Quiroga
Nancy R. Sanabria-González
author_sort Mayra X. Muñoz-Martinez
collection DOAJ
description The tanning industry is among the most environmentally harmful activities globally due to the pollution of lakes and rivers from its effluents. Hexavalent chromium, a metal in tannery effluents, has adverse effects on human health and ecosystems, requiring the development of removal techniques. This study assessed the efficacy of organobentonite/alginate hydrogel beads in removing Cr(VI) from a fixed-bed adsorption column system. The synthesized organobentonite (OBent) was encapsulated in alginate, utilizing calcium chloride as a crosslinking agent to generate hydrogel beads. The effects of the volumetric flow rate, bed height, and initial Cr(VI) concentration on a synthetic sample were analyzed in the experiments in fixed-bed columns. The fractal-like modified Thomas model showed a good fit to the experimental data for the asymmetric breakthrough curves, confirmed by the high <i>R</i><sup>2</sup> correlation coefficients and low <i>χ</i><sup>2</sup> values. The application of organoclay/alginate hydrogel beads was confirmed with a wastewater sample from an artisanal tannery industry in Belén (Nariño, Colombia), in which a Cr(VI) removal greater than 99.81% was achieved. Organobentonite/alginate hydrogels offer the additional advantage of being composed of a biodegradable polymer (sodium alginate) and a natural material (bentonite-type clay), resulting in promising adsorbents for the removal of Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions in both synthetic and real water samples.
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spelling doaj-art-afbcbbd425604257bb2726c3b03255b12025-08-20T02:00:46ZengMDPI AGGels2310-28612024-11-01101277910.3390/gels10120779Adsorption of Cr(VI) Using Organoclay/Alginate Hydrogel Beads and Their Application to Tannery EffluentMayra X. Muñoz-Martinez0Iván F. Macías-Quiroga1Nancy R. Sanabria-González2Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad Nacional de Colombia Sede Manizales, Campus La Nubia, km 9 vía al Aeropuerto, Manizales 170003, ColombiaDepartamento de Física y Química, Universidad Nacional de Colombia Sede Manizales, Campus La Nubia, km 9 vía al Aeropuerto, Manizales 170003, ColombiaDepartamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad Nacional de Colombia Sede Manizales, Campus La Nubia, km 9 vía al Aeropuerto, Manizales 170003, ColombiaThe tanning industry is among the most environmentally harmful activities globally due to the pollution of lakes and rivers from its effluents. Hexavalent chromium, a metal in tannery effluents, has adverse effects on human health and ecosystems, requiring the development of removal techniques. This study assessed the efficacy of organobentonite/alginate hydrogel beads in removing Cr(VI) from a fixed-bed adsorption column system. The synthesized organobentonite (OBent) was encapsulated in alginate, utilizing calcium chloride as a crosslinking agent to generate hydrogel beads. The effects of the volumetric flow rate, bed height, and initial Cr(VI) concentration on a synthetic sample were analyzed in the experiments in fixed-bed columns. The fractal-like modified Thomas model showed a good fit to the experimental data for the asymmetric breakthrough curves, confirmed by the high <i>R</i><sup>2</sup> correlation coefficients and low <i>χ</i><sup>2</sup> values. The application of organoclay/alginate hydrogel beads was confirmed with a wastewater sample from an artisanal tannery industry in Belén (Nariño, Colombia), in which a Cr(VI) removal greater than 99.81% was achieved. Organobentonite/alginate hydrogels offer the additional advantage of being composed of a biodegradable polymer (sodium alginate) and a natural material (bentonite-type clay), resulting in promising adsorbents for the removal of Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions in both synthetic and real water samples.https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/10/12/779fixed-bed adsorptionCr(VI)organobentonitealginatehydrogeltannery wastewater
spellingShingle Mayra X. Muñoz-Martinez
Iván F. Macías-Quiroga
Nancy R. Sanabria-González
Adsorption of Cr(VI) Using Organoclay/Alginate Hydrogel Beads and Their Application to Tannery Effluent
Gels
fixed-bed adsorption
Cr(VI)
organobentonite
alginate
hydrogel
tannery wastewater
title Adsorption of Cr(VI) Using Organoclay/Alginate Hydrogel Beads and Their Application to Tannery Effluent
title_full Adsorption of Cr(VI) Using Organoclay/Alginate Hydrogel Beads and Their Application to Tannery Effluent
title_fullStr Adsorption of Cr(VI) Using Organoclay/Alginate Hydrogel Beads and Their Application to Tannery Effluent
title_full_unstemmed Adsorption of Cr(VI) Using Organoclay/Alginate Hydrogel Beads and Their Application to Tannery Effluent
title_short Adsorption of Cr(VI) Using Organoclay/Alginate Hydrogel Beads and Their Application to Tannery Effluent
title_sort adsorption of cr vi using organoclay alginate hydrogel beads and their application to tannery effluent
topic fixed-bed adsorption
Cr(VI)
organobentonite
alginate
hydrogel
tannery wastewater
url https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/10/12/779
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AT nancyrsanabriagonzalez adsorptionofcrviusingorganoclayalginatehydrogelbeadsandtheirapplicationtotanneryeffluent