Mixed Oxide Layered Double Hydroxide Materials: Synthesis, Characterization and Efficient Application for Mn2+ Removal from Synthetic Wastewater

Magnesium–aluminum (Mg-Al) and magnesium–aluminum–nickel (Mg-Al-Ni) layered double hydroxides (LDHs) were synthesized by the co-precipitation method. The adsorption process of Mn2+ from synthetic wastewater was investigated. Formation of the layered double hydroxides and adsorption of Mn2+ on both Mg-Al and Mg-Ni-Al LDHs were observed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (EDX) analysis. XRD patterns for prepared LDHs presented sharp and symmetrical peaks. SEM studies revealed that Mg-Al LDH and Mg-Al-Ni LDH exhibit a non-porous structure. EDX analysis showed that the prepared LDHs present uniformly spread elements. The adsorption equilibrium on these LDHs was investigated at different experimental conditions such as: Shaking time, initial Mn2+ concentration, and temperatures (10 and 20 °C). The parameters were controlled and optimized to remove the Mn2+ from synthetic wastewater. Adsorption isotherms of Mn2+ were fitted by Langmuir and Freundlich models. The obtained results indicated that the isotherm data fitted better into the Freundlich model than the Langmuir model. Adsorption capacity of Mn2+ gradually increased with temperature. The Langmuir constant (KL) value of Mg-Al LDH (0.9529 ± 0.007 L/mg) was higher than Mg-Al-Ni LDH (0.1819 ± 0.004 L/mg), at 20 °C. The final adsorption capacity was higher for Mg-Al LDH (91.85 ± 0.087%) in comparison with Mg-Al-Ni LDH (35.97 ± 0.093%), at 20 °C. It was found that the adsorption kinetics is best described by the pseudo-second-order model. The results indicated that LDHs can be considered as a potential material for adsorption of other metallic ions from wastewater.