Study on Removal of Thallium from Wastewater by Chitosan/Fly Ash Composite Adsorbent

摘要

Thallium (TI) is a kind of emerging contaminant with strong toxicity. In this study, a low-cost, renewable, biologically low-toxic and environmentally friendly fly ash/chitosan (FACS) composite adsorption material was synthesized by combining the characteristics of chitosan and fly ash to remove thallium from wastewater. SEM, FTIR and XRD analyses showed that the adsorbent mainly contained silicate compounds, and the surface of the particles contained a large number of micro porous structures. The adsorption process was rapid, reaching the adsorption equilibrium after 60min. When the pH value was 8, FACS had the best adsorption effect on TI, which was not conducive to the adsorption of TI in either strong acid or strong base environment. The co-existence of Fe3+ and Mn2+ could facilitate the adsorption of TI by FACS. The adsorption isotherm data were better fitted for the Freundlich model, while the Second-order kinetic model was more suitable for describing the kinetic data. Since the main chemical bond composition and chemical groups of FACS would not change after the adsorption of TI, the removal rate of TI was still high when it was reused after desorption. Because of its simple operation, low cost and reusability, FACS is considered to have certain potential in the removal of TI from wastewater.