Facile synthesis of β-FeOOH nanoparticle-loaded secondary fly ash composites for enhanced removal of copper ion

AbstractBased on the “treating wastewater with wastes” strategy, an acid-dissolved fly ash residue derived from the extracting aluminum industry (denoted as secondary fly ash (SFA)) was chosen as very cheap and suitable solid support to be modified as an adsorbent for the removal of Cu2+ from wastewater in this article. A facile liquid-phase deposition method was introduced to achieve the loading of active β-FeOOH nanoparticles on the SFA surface wherein the gelatin was added to regulate microstructure and dispersity of the nanoparticles. The texture and composition of products were characterized using various techniques such as FE-SEM, XRF, X-ray diffraction, N2 adsorption/desorption, and 27Al MAS NMR. Results of batch adsorption experiments showed that SFA-Fe exhibited an obviously enhanced adsorption performance than the raw one. The optimal adsorption of Cu2+ was achieved at pH 5.5, and high temperature was beneficial to the adsorption with an increasing adsorption capacity (12.59−14.91 mg g−1) as env...