Removal of cadmium (II) from aqueous solution: A comparative study of raw attapulgite clay and a reusable waste-struvite/attapulgite obtained from nutrient-rich wastewater

In this study, raw attapulgite (APT) and a novel adsorbent, struvite/attapulgite (MAP/APT) obtained from nutrient-rich wastewater treated by MgO modified APT, were applied as the absorbent for Cd(II) ion removal from aqueous solution. The two adsorbents were characterized by BET, SEM-EDS, XRD, FT-IR. Raw APT and MAP/APT separately presented the maximum Cd(II) adsorption capacities of 10.38 mg/g and 121.14 mg/g at pH of 5.45. The Cd(II) adsorption on raw APT and MAP/APT could be well fitted by Freundlich isotherm and Langmuir isotherm, respectively. Pseudo-second order equation was able to properly describe the kinetics of Cd(II) adsorption by raw APT and MAP/APT. The calculated thermodynamic parameters indicated that Cd(II) adsorption onto raw APT and MAP/APT were spontaneous and endothermic. An economic evaluation revealed that the treatment costs of the adsorption process by raw APT and MPA/APT were 0.013 $ per 1000 mg Cd and 0.004 $ per 1000 mg Cd, respectively.