A Review on Cr(VI) Adsorption Using Inorganic Materials

Abstract

Chromium compounds are widely used in electroplating, metal finishing, magnetic tapes, pigments, leather tanning, wood protection and electronic and electrical equipment. Hexavalent chromium is a highly toxic metal and produces health damages. The most soluble, mobile and toxic forms of hexavalent chromium in soils are chromate and dichromate and the chromium distribution is also controlled by redox processes, its adsorption decreases with increasing pH and when competing dissolved anions are present. Several techniques have been developed to remove Cr(VI) from wastewater but these techniques have disadvantages such as high cost, non-selective, pH dependence, etc. The use of low cost sorbents has been investigated as a replacement for current costly methods; natural materials with a high adsorption capacity for heavy metals can be obtained. Modification of the sorbents can improve adsorption capacity. This paper includes some techniques for remove Cr(VI) with clays, silica and zeolites from aqueous solutions, some of the treated adsorbents show good adsorption capacities.

Share and Cite:

C. Rosales-Landeros, C. Barrera-Díaz, B. Bilyeu, V. Guerrero and F. Núñez, "A Review on Cr(VI) Adsorption Using Inorganic Materials," American Journal of Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 4 No. 7A, 2013, pp. 8-16. doi: 10.4236/ajac.2013.47A002.

1. Introduction

Hexavalent chromium is a strong oxidizing agent that is water-soluble in its anionic form. Due to its solubility, it is highly mobile in soil and aquatic environments and readily penetrates plant and animal epidermis where it irritates the tissues [1,2]. To meet strict environmental regulations, Cr(VI) in wastewater is typically removed by either adsorption or a reduction + precipitation method, both of which have problems. Adsorption of Cr(VI) anions by cellulose-based sorbents is relatively ineffective, while carbon is expensive. Therefore, Cr(VI) anions must be first reduced to Cr(III) cations for effective sorption. Likewise, to precipitate Cr(VI), it must first be reduced to Cr(III). The reduction of Cr(VI) is advantageous in itself because the trivalent form is a thousand times less toxic [3] and can be effectively adsorbed or precipitated.

The reduction of Cr(VI) in wastewater is typically done with a reducing agent like iron or iron(II) ions under acidic conditions. The process usually involves lowering the pH to 1 or 2, adding reducing agent, then raising the pH to the level for adsorption or precipitation [4]. All of these steps require large amounts of reagents, which affect the cost, the sustainability, the overall quality and ionic properties, and the amount of sludge generated. Thus, new ways to remove Cr(VI) from wastewater in a single step would be advantageous.

In this review, we focus attention on new ways to remove Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions using inorganic materials. In this sense we center our study on the use of natural and modified clays, silica and zeolites.

Figure 1 shows a classification of thenatural inorganic materials that have been recently studied for Cr(VI) sorption.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1] Y. Kubota, “Effect of Zeolite Modification for Chromate Adsorption by Using Mongolian Natural Zeolite. Bachelor Dissertation,” Department of International Development Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 2009.
[2] P. D. Kumar, S. Jadhav, S. Rayalu and S. Devotta, “Surface-Modified Zeolite-A for Sequestration of Arsenic and Chromium Anions,” Current Science, Vol. 92, No. 4, 2007, pp. 512-517.
[3] Z. Li, K. Jones, P. Zhang and R. Bowman, “Chromate Transport through Columns Packed with Surfactant Modified Zeolite/Zero Valent Iron Pellets,” Chemosphere, Vol. 68, No. 10, 2007, pp. 1861-1866. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2007.03.011
[4] H. Faghihian and R. S. Bowman, “Adsorption of Chromate by Clinoptilolite Exchanged with Various Metal Cations,” Water Research, Vol. 39, No. 6, 2005, pp. 10991104. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2004.12.010
[5] W. Simmons and D. Stewart, “Silica Mineral,” Resource Document, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2006. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/544154/silica
[6] C. E. Weaver and L. D. Pollard, “Developments in Sedimentology,” Elsevier Scientific, Amsterdam, 1985.
[7] E. Besoain, “Soil Clay Mineralogy,” Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, San José, 1985.
[8] D. Mohan and C. U. Pittman Jr., “Review Activated Carbons and Low Cost Adsorbents for Remediation of Triand Hexavalent Chromium from Water,” Journal of Hazardous Materials, Vol. 137, No. 2, 2006, pp. 762-811. doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2006.06.060
[9] Y. C. Sharma, V. Srivastava, V. K. Singh, S. N. Kaul and C. H. Weng, “Nano-Adsorbents for Removal of Metallic Pollutants from Water and Wastewater,” Environmental Technology, Vol. 30, No. 6, 2009, pp. 583-609. doi:10.1080/09593330902838080
[10] K. Bhattacharyya and S. S. Gupta, “Adsorption of Chromium(VI) from Water by Clays,” Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol. 45, No. 21, 2006, pp. 72327240. doi:10.1021/ie060586j
[11] P. K. Pandey, S. K. Sharma and S. S. Sambi, “Kinetics and Equilibrium Study of Chromium Adsorption on Zeolitenax,” International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 7, No. 2, 2010, pp. 395-404.
[12] A. Gladysz, M. Majdan, S. Pikus and D. Sternik, “Simultaneous Adsorption of Chromium(VI) and Phenol on Natural Red Clay Modified by HDTM,” Chemical Engineering Journal, Vol. 179, 2012, pp. 140-150. doi:10.1016/j.cej.2011.10.071
[13] W. Chih-Huang, Y. C. Sharma and S.-H. Chua, “Adsorption of Cr(VI) from Aqueous Solutions by Spent Activated Clay,” Journal of Hazardous Materials, Vol. 155, No. 1-2, 2008, pp. 65-75. doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2007.11.029
[14] J. Dana, “Manual of Mineralogy,” 2nd Edition, Reverte, 1973.
[15] P. K. Jal, S. Patel and B. K. Mishra, “Chemical Modification of Silica Surface by Immobilization of Functional Groups for Extractive Concentration of Metals Ion,” Talanta, The International Journal of Pure and Applied Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 62, No. 5, 2004, pp. 10051028.
[16] M. Gandhi and S. Meenakshi, “Preparation and Characterization of La(III) Encapsulated Silica Gel/Chitosan Composite and Its Metal Uptakes Studies,” Journal of Hazardous Materials, Vol. 203-204, 2012, pp. 29-37. doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2011.11.062
[17] S. Douglas, “Recommended Nomenclature for Zeolite Mineral: Report of the Subcommittee on Zeolites of the International Mineralogical Association on New Minerals and Mineral Name,” The Canadian Mineralogist, Vol. 35, 1997, pp. 1571-1606.
[18] V. Swarnakar, N. Agrawal and R. Tomar, “Sorption of Cr(VI) & As(V) on HDTMA-Modified Zeolite,” International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Vol. 2, No. 5, 2011, pp. 1-9.
[19] D. Breck, “Zeolite Molecular Sieves: Structure, Chemistry and Use,” Wiley-Interscience Publication, New York, 1973.
[20] H. Tashauoei, H. Movahedian, M. Kamali, M. Amin and M. Nikaeen, “Removal of Hexavalent Chromium (VI) from Aqueous Solutions Using Surface Modified Nanozeolite A,” International Journal of Environmental Research, Vol. 4, No. 3, 2010, pp. 491-500.
[21] M. Vaca, R. Loa Pez, R. Gehr, B. Jimeanez and P. álvarez, “Heavy Metal Removal with Mexican Clinoptilolite: Multi-Component Ionic Exchange,” Water Research, Vol. 35, No. 2, 2001, pp. 373-378. doi:10.1016/S0043-1354(00)00270-0
[22] S. Kocaoba and Y. Orchan, “Heavy Metal Adsorption by Clinoptilolite from Aqueous Solutions,” Faculty of Art and Science, Yylyl Technical University, 2003. http://www.gisig.it/eco-imagine/abstract/Borsisti/Posters%20Genoa/Kocaoba.PDF
[23] P. Rodríguez, I. ávila, M. Rodríguez, B. Gener, M. Concepción, M. Rebollar, C. Betancourt, R. Covarrubias, R. Arriagada and R. García, “New Materials for Chromium (III) and (VI) from Industrial Waste,” Iberoamerican Congress of Metallurgy and Materials, Habana, 2006.
[24] V. Swarnakar, N. Agrawal and R. Tomar, “Sorption of Chromate by HDTMA-Exchanged Zeolite,” Journal of Chemical Pharmaceutical Research, Vol. 3, No. 3, 2011, pp. 520-529.
[25] R. Cortés. “Effect of Modification of Natural Mexican Zeolite Sorption of Cadmium and 4-Chlorophenol,” Ph.D. Dissertation, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, 2007.
[26] V. Swarnakar, N. Agrawal and R. Tomar, “Sorption Chromate and Arsenate by Surfactant Modified Erionite,” International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Vol. 33, No. 6, 2012, pp. 919-927.
[27] T. Bajda and Z. Klapyta, “Sorption of Chromate by Clinoptilolite Modified with Alkylammonium Surfactants,” Journey of Polish Mineralogy, Vol. 37, No. 2, 2006, pp. 109-115.
[28] E. Chimielewska, “Adsorption of Arsenate and Chromate from Waters on Hydrophobized Zeolitic Media,” Turkish Journal of Chemistry, Vol. 27, No. 5, 2003, pp. 639-648.
[29] C. Pérez, V. Granda, L. Pina and F. Torres, “Adsorption of Cr(VI) on a Surface Modified Clinoptilolite Mineral; Speciation of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) by FIA Coupled with Microcolumn,” Cuban Journal of Chemistry, Vol. 15, No. 2, 2003, pp. 53-59.

Copyright © 2024 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.