Removal of Fe(III) from synthetic wastewater into raw and modified clay: Experiments and models fitting

Water pollution by heavy metal ions has become a serious environmental issue especially due to their toxicity and tendency to bioaccumulation. Natural smectite clay was treated using sulfuric acid to improve its adsorption capacity for the removal of iron ions from aqueous solutions. The results showed that adsorption was favored at pH 3 and room temperature. The experimental adsorption capacity of Fe(III) is 12.86 and 19.25 mg/g for natural and acid-activated clay, respectively. From all of our data, we conclude that the treated clay by sulfuric acid investigated in this study showed good potential for iron removal from aqueous solutions.

Automated summary

In this study, natural smectite clay was treated with sulfuric acid to enhance its adsorption capacity for iron ions in aqueous solutions. The results indicated that the adsorption efficiency was highest at pH 3 and room temperature, with the acid-activated clay showing a significantly higher adsorption capacity for Fe(III) compared to natural clay.Overall, the study demonstrates that sulfuric acid-treated clay has promising potential for removing iron ions from aqueous solutions.