Adsorption of Cd(Ⅱ) from acidic aqueous solutions by tourmaline as a novel material

Batch experiments were conducted to investigate the behavior and mechanisms for the adsorption of Cd(Ⅱ) from aqueous solutions by tourmaline under acidic conditions. The results indicated that the adsorption of Cd(Ⅱ) significantly depend on the adsorption time, temperature, and the initial concentration of the metal ion. Furthermore, tourmaline had a very good adsorption capacity for Cd(Ⅱ) in acidic, neutral and alkaline aqueous solutions. This good adsorption capacity is attributed to the observation that tourmaline can automatically adjust the pH values of acidic (except pH 2.0 and 3.0), neutral or alkaline aqueous solutions to 6.4. Specifically, the removal capacity for Cd(Ⅱ) was higher at strongly acidic pH values (in contrast to industrial wastewater pH values) compared to that obtained for other types of adsorbents. Furthermore, the results obtained in this study showed good fits to the Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms. However, the Langmuir model fit better than the Freundlich model. The maximum uptake of Cd(Ⅱ) by tourmaline was 31.77, 33.11 and 40.16 mg/g at pH 4.0 at 15, 25 and 35°C, respectively. Therefore, tourmaline is an effective adsorbent for the removal of Cd(Ⅱ) from acidic aqueous solutions. In addition, the kinetics for the Cd(Ⅱ) adsorption by tourmaline closely followed the pseudo-second-order model. The thermodynamic parameters indicated that adsorption was feasible, spontaneous, and endothermic. Furthermore, the pH variation after adsorption, ζ-potential, metal ions desorbed and released, and FT-IR analysis indicated that the physisorption and chemisorption mechanisms of tourmaline for heavy metals. These mechanisms included water that was automatically polarized by tourmaline, the ion exchange process, and electropolar adsorption. Among the mechanisms, the automatic polarization of water caused by tourmaline is a unique adsorption mechanism for tourmaline.