Adsorption of impurities from nickel-plating baths using commercial sorbents to reduce wastewater discharges. (15th April 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Pérez Jiménez, Vanesa Anahi; Hernández-Montoya, Virginia; Ramírez-Montoya, Luis A.; Castillo-Borja, Florianne; Tovar-Gómez, Rigoberto; Montes-Morán, Miguel A.
• Is Part Of: Journal of environmental management. Volume 284(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-04-15
• Subjects: Adsorption -- Metal ions -- Nickel-plating -- Water -- Molecular simulation; Environmental policy -- Periodicals; Environmental management -- Periodicals; Environment -- Periodicals; Ecology -- Periodicals; 363.705
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112024
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0301-4797

Abstract

Abstract: The presence of moderate concentrations of impurities in the nickel-plating baths generates failures on the coated pieces. This situation entails the necessity of replacing the electroplating bath, which implies the generation of large volumes of wastewater with metallic species and high quantity of sludge. For this reason, the adsorption of the principal impurities of nickel-plating baths of an industry was analyzed in this work. Particularly, the removal of Zn 2+ was studied in more detail since the presence of this metal in the baths generates black spots on the coated pieces. Different commercial materials were used as adsorbents and Zn 2+ adsorption studies were carried out using both standard solutions and industrial water from the nickel-plating baths. All the adsorption tests were performed in batch systems under constant agitation and the quantification of the impurities was made by ICP-MS analysis. The bone char (BC) was an efficient adsorbent for the removal of the principal impurities of nickel-plating baths. The use of molecular simulation tools helped to understand the preferences of the hydroxyapatite (the principal component of bone char) for different metallic ions present in the industrial waters. According to both the experimental adsorption and molecular simulation results, hydroxyl and phosphate groups of bone char are responsible of the adsorption of impurities of nickel-plating baths. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: Adsorption of impurities of nickel-plating baths was studied in batch systems. Concentration of zinc of 85 mg/L can generate black spots on the coated pieces. Bone char is adsorbing approximately 1 mg/g of nickel-plating baths. The interaction of hydroxyapatite-impurities was evident by molecular simulation .