Kinetics and Thermodynamics studies of Ni (II) adsorption by silica aerogel-activated carbon nanocomposite

Abstract Presence of toxic heavy metals like nickel in water resources is a major environmental problem in many communities.   In this study, to stimulate the removal of Ni (II) from aqueous solution by silica aerogel-activated carbon nanocomposite, the parameters affecting the adsorption process such as pH, amount of adsorbent, contact time, temperature and concentration were investigated and optimized. The results showed the maximum adsorption at pH= 5. The lower pH, the more H+ ion competing with the metal ion for adsorption sites. Kinetic studies indicated that the adsorption process followed the pseudo-second order kinetics. Moreover, the equilibrium data related to adsorption isotherms showed a superiority of the Langmuir isotherm compared to other models. Discussion and Calculation of thermodynamic factors, such as ΔG◦, ΔH◦ and ΔS◦, indicated that the adsorption process is spontaneous, endothermic and irreversible. The results showed that silica aerogel-activated carbon nanocomposite has been successfully employed for the removal of Ni (II) from aqueous solutions.