Removal of Metal Ions from Wastewater Using Co-integrated Superparamagnetic Nanoparticles

The column performance of silica-coated, amino-functionalized, superparamagnetic nanoparticles co-integrated with Cynodon dactylon and Murraya koenigii plant extracts for the removal of Cu^II ions was evaluated. The co-integrated nanoparticles were used as sorbent materials in fixed-bed column studies, and the effects of inlet concentration, adsorbent bed depth, and flow rate were analyzed. Breakthrough time was calculated for various Cu^II inlet concentrations, depths of the adsorbent bed, and volumetric flow rates. Models such as Thomas, Yoon-Nelson, and the bed depth model were evaluated to determine the experimental fit. The maximum breakthrough time for Cu^II ions of 1200 min was attained for a Cu^II inlet concentration of 100 mg L^–1, sorbent bed depth of 3 cm, and volumetric flow rate of 1 mL min^–1.