Adsorption of heavy metals from aqueous solutions by Mg–Al–Zn mingled oxides adsorbent

In our study, Mg–Al–Zn mingled oxides were prepared by the co-precipitation method. The structure, composition, morphology and thermal stability of the synthesized Mg–Al–Zn mingled oxides were analyzed by powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, N 2 physisorption, scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetry. Batch experiments were performed to study the adsorption behavior of cobalt(II) and nickel(II) as a function of pH, contact time, initial metal ion concentration, and adsorbent dose. The maximum adsorption capacity of Mg–Al–Zn mingled oxides for cobalt and nickel metal ions was 116.7 mg g −1 , and 70.4 mg g −1 , respectively. The experimental data were analyzed using pseudo-first- and pseudo-second-order kinetic models in linear and nonlinear regression analysis. The kinetic studies showed that the adsorption process could be described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Experimental equilibrium data were well represented by Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. Also, the maximum monolayer capacity, q max , obtained was 113.8 mg g −1 , and 79.4 mg g −1 for Co(II), and Ni(II), respectively. Our results showed that Mg–Al–Zn mingled oxides can be used as an efficient adsorbent material for removal of heavy metals from industrial wastewater samples.