Study on the ability to remove Cd2+ ions in water environment by using halloysite mixture from Thach Khoan area, Phu Tho

Abstract

Thach Khoan, Phu Tho area is the area with great potential for weathered kaolinite source from pegmatites of the Tan Phuong complex. This kaolin has quite good quality and is used in many traditional applications such as high quality ceramic glaze, high-grade bricks. However, the use of this material in the treatment of water pollution is still limited. In this study, the natural kaolin material from Thach Khoan area, Phu Tho province with about 87% amount of tubular halloysites was used to remove Cd²⁺ ion from water. The factors of pH, contact time, the adsorbent weight, and initial concentration of Cd2+ were studied to access their effects on the Cd²⁺ ion adsorption process using this raw material. The results indicated that under the conditions of pH0 of 6.5 and at room temperature (25 ^oC), with 0.8 g of halloysite powder and Cd2⁺ initial concentration of 30 mg/L, the adsorption of Cd²⁺ could reach equilibrium after 50 minutes with an efficiency of 86.31%. The adsorption process follows the Langmuir adsorption isotherm model with the maximum monolayer adsorption capacity of 2.75 mg/g and follows the second-order pseudo-adsorption kinetic equation. The results show that the natural halloysite material without treatment has the potential in using to remove heavy metal ions in polluted water and needs to be studied further.