Kinetic study of heavy metal ions removal by ion exchange in batch conical air spouted bed

Spouted bed contactor is a hybrid of fixed and fluidized bed contactors, which retains the advantages of each with good hydrodynamic conditions. The aim of the present study is to investigate the performance of a batch conical air spouted vessel for heavy metal removal by strong cation exchange resins (AMBERJET 1200 Na). The effect of various parameters such as type of heavy metal ions (Ni+2 and Pb+2), contact time, superficial air velocity and initial heavy metal ion concentration on % heavy metal ion removal has been investigated. It has been found that under optimum conditions 98% and 99% removal of Ni+2 and Pb+2 were achieved respectively. Several kinetic models were used to test the experimental data and to examine the controlling mechanism of the sorption process. The present results of Ni+2 and Pb+2 well fit pseudo second order kinetic model with a high correlation coefficient. Both film diffusion and intra-particle diffusion contribute to the ion exchange process. The present study revealed that spouted bed vessel may provide an effective alternative for conducting ion exchange reactions. (C) 2014 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University.