The study of mercury removal using synthesized copper ferrite nanofiber in laboratory scale

Mercury (Hg) as a toxic and prohibitive compound is of great concern in wastewater treatment. This study evaluated the Hg removal efficiency using synthesized copper ferrite (CuFe2O4) nanofiber. We calcined CuFe2O4 nanofiber in 500 ℃, 600 ℃ and 700 ℃. The nanofibers characterized by scanning microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis. The average diameter of CuFe2O4 nanofibers before calcination varied between 400 nm to 500 nm. After calcination at 700 ℃, the average diameter reached to 95 nm. The evaluated specific surface area was 21.03 m2/g. The value of pH, which adsorption could happen, was 7.5 (pHpzc). The effect of pH in the removal of Hg in a fabricated wastewater containing 30 g/l of Hg and 0.05g CuFe2O4 nanofiber was studied. The minimum Hg removal was 25%, which elevated by increasing of pH. The maximum Hg removal efficiency was 99.98%, which observed at pH of 10. At pH of 7.5, the various amounts of calcined CuFe2O4 nanofibers at 700 °C were used in a fabricated wastewater to eliminate Hg in the concentrations of 5 mg/l, 10 mg/l, 30 mg/l, 250 mg/l and 500 mg/l. The empirical data indicated the aptness of Freundlich isotherm in describing of Hg eliminations (R2 = 99.99% and IA = 97.99%,). The performance of adsorption in Langmuir isotherm (RL) was satisfactory.