Adsorptive removal of heavy metals from water using sodium titanate nanofibres loaded onto GAC in fixed-bed columns

Heavy metals are serious pollutants in aquatic environments. A study was undertaken to remove Cu, Cd, Ni, Pb and Zn individually (single metal system) and together (mixed metals system) from water by adsorption onto a sodium titanate nanofibrous material. Langmuir adsorption capacities (mg/g) at 10−3 M NaNO3 ionic strength in the single metal system were 60, 83, 115 and 149 for Ni, Zn, Cu, and Cd, respectively, at pH 6.5 and 250 for Pb at pH 4.0. In the mixed metals system they decreased at high metals concentrations. In column experiments with 4% titanate material and 96% granular activated carbon (w/w) mixture at pH 5.0, the metals breakthrough times and adsorption capacities (for both single and mixed metals systems) decreased in the order Pb > Cd, Cu > Zn > Ni within 266 bed volumes. The amounts adsorbed were up to 82 times higher depending on the metal in the granular activated carbon + titanate column than in the granular activated carbon column. The study showed that the titanate material has high potential for removing heavy metals from polluted water when used with granular activated carbon at a very low proportion in fixed-bed columns.