MIL-53(FE) / COW BONE CHAR COMPOSITE FOR CHROMIUM REMOVAL FROM TANNERY WASTEWATER

MIL-53(Fe)/Cow bone char composite, prepared via the sol-gel method was used for the removal of chromium from real tannery effluent having an initial concentration of 40mg/l. The characteristics of MIL-53(Fe)/Cow bone char were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) Boehm titration and scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDX). Adsorption capacity of MIL-53(Fe)/Cow bone char composite for chromium was 19.61 mg/g with a removal efficiency of 87.8% at an optimal bed height of 2.4cm (2.0g) for MIL-53(Fe)/Cow bone char composite, time of 2 minutes and pHpzc=5.4.The kinetic studies showed that the adsorption data were well fitted to the pseudo second-order model with high correlation coefficient R2=0.9911. Furthermore, the adsorption isotherm equilibrium studies confirmed that the Langmuir model best described the adsorption process of chromium onto MIL-53(Fe)/Cow bone char composite. Analysis of data with Dubinin–Radushkevich and Temkin isotherms showed that adsorption of chromium onto MIL-53(Fe)/Cow bone char composite is physical in nature.