Removal of hexavalent chromium from aqueous solutions by micellar compounds

The recovery of toxic metal compounds is a deep concern in all industries. Hexavalent chromium is particularly worrying because of its toxic influence on human health [1-3]. Actually the wastewater norm (0.1 mg/l) is very strict and will become more severe in the near future. We present in this paper the experimental results of the metal ion which is bound on micellar compounds and then retained by ultrafiltration membrane. A well known surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTABr) is used as an adsorbent to remove hexavalent chromium from wastewaters. The effects of various experimental parameters on equilibrium adsorption of Cr(VI) on the surfactant have been investigated using batch adsorption experiments. It was found that the capacity of chromium adsorption on CTABr increases with initial metal concentration and in a lesser extent with pH solution. Total chromium adsorption decreased slightly with a rise in temperature suggesting an exothermic adsorption of chromium, thermodynamic parameters are evaluated. It has also been observed that the capacity of chromium adsorption decreases with the mass of adsorbent and concentration of other ions present in the solution. The metal ion adsorption on surfactant is well represented by the Freundlich isotherm. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.