Testing of Natural Sorbents for the Assessment of Heavy Metal Ions' Adsorption

Nowadays, the sorption-oriented approach is on the agenda in the remediation practices of lands contaminated with heavy metals. The current growing quantity of research accounts for different sorbents. However, there is still a lack of studies utilizing the economic criteria. Therefore, to ensure a wide application of opportunities, one of the necessary requirements is their economic efficiency in use. By utilizing these criteria, this manuscript researches the generally accepted natural sorbents for the assessment of heavy metal ions' adsorption, such as peat, diatomite, vermiculite and their mixtures in different proportions and physical shapes. The methodological base of the study consists of the volumetric (titrimetric) method, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and atomic absorption spectrometry. Experimental tests show a certain decline in the efficiency of heavy metal ions' adsorption from aqueous salt solutes as follows: granular peat-diatomite > large-fraction vermiculite > medium-fraction vermiculite > non-granular peat-diatomite > diatomite.

Automated summary

This study investigates the sorption-oriented approach in the remediation of lands contaminated with heavy metals, focusing on the economic criteria for evaluating the efficiency of natural sorbents. Experimental tests demonstrate variations in the efficiency of different sorbents in adsorbing heavy metal ions from aqueous salt solutes.